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• beer
  beer

  noun

  an alcoholic beverage made by brewing and fermentation from cereals, usually malted barley, and flavored with hops and the like for a slightly bitter taste.
• Beer
  Beer

  noun

  Thomas, 1889–1940, U.S. author.

beer

¹ American  

[beer] / bɪər /

noun

1. an alcoholic beverage made by brewing and fermentation from cereals, usually malted barley, and flavored with hops and the like for a slightly bitter taste.

2. any of various beverages, whether alcoholic or not, made from roots, molasses or sugar, yeast, etc..

   root beer; ginger beer.

3. an individual serving of beer; a glass, can, or bottle of beer.

   We'll have three beers.

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Beer ² American  

[beer] / bɪər /

noun

1. Thomas, 1889–1940, U.S. author.

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beer British  

/ bɪə /

noun

1. an alcoholic drink brewed from malt, sugar, hops, and water and fermented with yeast Compare ale

2. a slightly fermented drink made from the roots or leaves of certain plants

   ginger beer

   nettle beer

3. (modifier) relating to or used in the drinking of beer

   beer glass

   beer mat

4. (modifier) in which beer is drunk, esp (of licensed premises) having a licence to sell beer

   beer house

   beer cellar

   beer garden

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Etymology

Origin of beer

First recorded before 1000; Middle English bere, Old English bēor; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German bior, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch bēr, Dutch, German Bier ( Old Norse bjōrr, probably from Old English); further origin uncertain

Explanation

Beer is an alcoholic drink usually made from barley and hops. A beer is a can or pint of the stuff. Too much beer can make people, often college students, wear lampshades as hats or dance like chickens. Cheers! Beer is a foamy, malt-flavored beverage with a relatively low alcohol content. Beer is actually the most commonly consumed alcoholic drink around the world, and it's believed to be the oldest too. Brewers make beer by fermenting a grain — usually barley or wheat — and adding hops or other flavoring agents. The word comes from the Old English beor, and though experts disagree about its roots, one guess names the Vulgar Latin biber, "beverage," as a possible origin.

Example Sentences

In April 2024, slurry from its lagoon entered the Leigh Tributary of the Beer Hackett Stream, also known as the River Wriggle.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

Beer demand has also taken a hit due to a weaker construction market, executives have said.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 8, 2026

“It’s surprising to us,” said Kyle DeGasero, who purchased a three-bedroom home in the town of Simsbury in 2012 and owns the Dead Language Beer Project brewery in the city.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

He talks about riding the subway with Lori Beer, the bank’s global chief information officer, “back to our respective residences the other night and talking about our tech road map for a specific vendor.”

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

When we reached the Throgs Neck Bridge, Doug Swieteck started “One Thousand Bottles of Beer on the Wall,” until Mrs. Baker came down the bus aisle and didn’t need to say anything.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt