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• ale
  ale

  noun

  a malt beverage, darker, heavier, and more bitter than beer, containing about 6 percent alcohol by volume.
• A.L.E.
  A.L.E.

  abbreviation

  additional living expense.

ale

¹ American  

[eyl] / eɪl /

noun

1. a malt beverage, darker, heavier, and more bitter than beer, containing about 6 percent alcohol by volume.

2. British. beer.

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A.L.E. ² American  

abbreviation

Insurance.

1. additional living expense.

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ale British  

/ eɪl /

noun

1. a beer fermented in an open vessel using yeasts that rise to the top of the brew Compare beer lager 1

2. (formerly) an alcoholic drink made by fermenting a cereal, esp barley, but differing from beer by being unflavoured by hops

3. another word for beer

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Etymology

Origin of ale

First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English (e)alu (genitive ealoth ); cognate with Old Saxon alo-, Middle Dutch ale, ael, Old Norse ǫl; Lithuanian alùs, Old Church Slavonic olŭ; Finnish, Estonian olut

Explanation

Ale is a particular type of beer. Ale would be a good thing to order if you ever visit a pub in Britain. Ale is yeast-fermented beer, brewed with sweet-tasting malted barley, and often with hops, to balance the sweetness with a more bitter flavor. In Britain, ale is considered to be any beer "other than lager, stout, or porter," while in the US ale is distinguished by the style of fermentation. The Old English origin of ale is ealu, "ale or beer." The Proto-Indo-European root has an implied meaning of "sorcery, magic, and intoxication."

Example Sentences

The son would respond, “a double,” and then take his ginger ale.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

If your people are beer people, think versatile: an amber ale or clean lager, plus a solid N/A counterpart.Athletic makes good ones, though many skew hoppy, so keep your audience in mind.

From Salon • Nov. 25, 2025

The stolen items, which included steak and ale pies, turkey and cranberry pies and butternut squash pies, would have been enough to stock Tommy's Pie Shop for a week, according to the chef.

From BBC • Dec. 2, 2024

I coughed up $15.99 for Wi-Fi—much more than most airlines charge—and $9.98 for Pringles and a can of ginger ale.

From Slate • Oct. 15, 2024

He emits a grunt of ale and onion.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• brew
• malt
• suds