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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

“Is there an opener?” asks Godrich, who holds a bottle of fancy root beer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

The atmosphere was Monte Carlo meets frat party — helicopters in and out, a beachside DJ set, beer pong tournaments.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026

Roses are placed on the tables where supporters nibbled from snack plates, hugged, all smiles, and sipped from glasses of sparkling wine or beer.

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

For companies shipping beer across the border, that means significantly higher costs.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

He placed a pot of ground millet, a packet of snuff, cooking utensils, and a calabash of beer at the top.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

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

Beer cans, bottles and other trash have blown from their property into his yard, he claimed, posing an aspiration risk because ostriches are attracted to shiny objects.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Former NFL player Jason Kelce, a co-owner of Garage Beer, featured in a now-viral online video encouraging viewers to bottle up their urine to send to data centers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 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

A&W is known for frosty glass mugs, but our root beers came in quart-sized waxy paper containers shaped like traffic cones.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 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

He added that the use of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss offers an opportunity to expand the utility of small beers and move into little-treat culture.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

Still, Briggs said his money did not feel like it went as far in the U.S. as it would back home in Scotland, pointing to $7 fries and $10 beers in Boston and New York.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026

And behind that is the refrigerator, or cooler, which currently contains the 210 beers that Ben has not yet peed into, the turkey- that-looks-like-ham sandwiches, and some Coke.

From "Paper Towns" by John Green