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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  

[ayl] / eɪl /

noun

• ales
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ales
  plural

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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

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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

See Examples For:

ale ales

Some autumnal ale: It can be delightful when craft breweries churn out seasonally inspired flavors, but what happens when we start being served pumpkin beer in August, or Christmas beer before Halloween?

From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2026

Icy cold glasses of Tell the Truth, a light and lemony ale, sat before them on a high-top table beside a stenographer’s notebook and a laptop.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

Worn down by pestering, our parents relented and allowed ginger ale at Sunday dinner.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

She lists her interests as real ale, good books, the arts and music and sport - she’s a member of Glamorgan County Cricket Club and a regular at Cardiff City FC and at Cardiff Rugby.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

“We have ginger ale and Moxie,” Marion chimed in.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

It’s a full meal in a pint glass, a little bitter, smoky and sweet, with zero in common with today’s nerdy low-cal ales.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

It is known for its well-kept local ales, from Stroud Brewery and good bar banter.

From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025

In their analysis of Belgian ales, the scientists found a clear hierarchy.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 29, 2025

“We’re having trouble finding Saymo, so we just keep ordering Shastas and ginger ales and hoping that he’ll roll up,” Mulaney said at the January presentation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2025

We drank ginger ales and ordered jalapeno poppers and we all danced to a country and western band while Susan’s face beamed on the late news from the TV above the bar.

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli

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Related Words

• brew
• malt
• suds

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