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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

• beers
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• beers
  plural

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

See Examples For:

beer Beer beers

No one is sure which came first in this “chicken-or-the-egg” story — greater demand for more nonalcoholic beer or better quality offerings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

Today, nonalcoholic wine is widely available in Germany, including at some Oktoberfest beer tents and festival stands, though it is far less prominent than nonalcoholic beer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

A global shift toward nonalcoholic drinks — driven by greater health consciousness from California to Cologne and beyond — has reached even the world’s biggest celebration of beer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

Some waitresses at this year's beer festival say they have also started wearing cycling shorts under their dirndls.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

“Where should I start? Poet, philosopher, fisherman. My pop calls me a bum, but that’s elitist, don’t you think? I can split wood, spread mulch, pour beer and grow perfect tomatoes.”

From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson

Shawna Dawson Beer, a longtime Altadena advocate, was glad this latest review acknowledged that it was “not just a chaotic night, ... but a cascade of failures.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

And in the heart of the capital, near the British Museum, a pub has hung up an eight-metre embroidered "Beer Tapestry" recounting the history of brewing in a playful tribute to the more violent original.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Justin, engaged to singer Madison Beer, plans to move out and hand his room to Patrick.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

Through the forest, out on a highway, was an A&W Root Beer stand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 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

On Friday evenings, hundreds of people gather at Ponysaurus Brewing Co., a trendy spot in Durham, North Carolina, to savor its craft beers and cocktails, hardly the place you’d expect a school to open.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

Getting asked out to an affordable happy hour where beers are $5 might actually be a bigger green flag for someone than a date at a fancy cocktail bar.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

Another farm established late last century was Pemaquid Oyster Company, whose co-founder, Smokey McKeen, met me for midday beers at the riverside seafood restaurant Schooner Landing, after my visit to Glidden.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

“We’re poor. If someone offers you $20 ... and they barbecue for you and they’re buying you beers, why not?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026

Once the waiter put the beers down, my mother motioned with her head for him to step away from the table and leave us alone.

From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat