Dictionary.com

beer

[ beer ]
/ bɪər /
Save This Word!

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.
any of various beverages, whether alcoholic or not, made from roots, molasses or sugar, yeast, etc.: root beer; ginger beer.
an individual serving of beer; a glass, can, or bottle of beer: We'll have three beers.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH beer

beer , bier

Other definitions for beer (2 of 2)

Beer
[ beer ]
/ bɪər /

noun
Thomas, 1889–1940, U.S. author.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use beer in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for beer

beer
/ (bɪə) /

noun
an alcoholic drink brewed from malt, sugar, hops, and water and fermented with yeastCompare ale
a slightly fermented drink made from the roots or leaves of certain plantsginger beer; nettle beer
(modifier) relating to or used in the drinking of beerbeer glass; beer mat
(modifier) in which beer is drunk, esp (of licensed premises) having a licence to sell beerbeer house; beer cellar; beer garden

Word Origin for beer

Old English beor; related to Old Norse bjōrr, Old Frisian biār, Old High German bior
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
FEEDBACK