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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

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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

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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

And he would need some Twiglets, a yeasty, pretzel-like snack that pairs well with a beer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

There were long lines both for Pulido T-shirts that cost up to $55 and for beer and cocktails at concession stands throughout the arena.

From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026

There was an open bar with beer and wine, chicken wings, and burgers for the crowd of over 100.

From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026

Denmark’s Carlsberg said Thursday that its own beer volumes slid over the most recent quarter, hit by a tough Chinese market, as well as weakness in Western Europe, but that soft-drinks sales saw rapid growth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

We washed it all down with root beer and pithy lemonade.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Two Thirds Beer Co, in Sheffield, is also showing the final.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

Mytheresa has more established luxury brands like Prada and Valentino, while Net-a-Porter and Mr. Porter focus on emerging designers, said Beer, the CFO.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

And that needed to change, Beer recently told me.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

The British Beer and Pub Association reports that nearly two pubs shut each day in the first quarter of this year, up 26% from 2025.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

Beer, candy wrappers, old movie ticket stubs, and one soiled pair of underwear had been left on the ground around it as offerings.

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia

Smith and his partners are even offering $1 off beers this week, given the flooding, and are maintaining plans for Halloween costume contests, “The Voice” auditions and live music.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

About 80 people made the pilgrimage to snap photos, show off their bike tricks and watch the movie over burgers and beers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

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

The local beer loyalties of individual German drinkers are reinforced by German laws that make it hard for foreign beers to compete in the German market.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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