Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

brandy

American  
[bran-dee] / ˈbræn di /

noun

  • brandies
    plural
  1. a spirit distilled from wine or from the fermented juice of grapes or of apples, peaches, plums, etc.


verb (used with object)

brandied, brandying
  1. to mix, flavor, or preserve with brandy.

brandy British  
/ ˈbrændɪ /

noun

  1. an alcoholic drink consisting of spirit distilled from grape wine

  2. a distillation of wines made from other fruits

    plum brandy

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of brandy

1615–25; short for brandywine < Dutch brandewijn burnt (i.e., distilled) wine

Compare meaning

How does brandy compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Russia has also restricted Armenian fish, famed Jermuk mineral water, wine and brandy.

From Barron's Jul. 14, 2026

Today, the company has expanded and diversified, and become the leading seller of American apple brandy in the U.S. and abroad.

From The Wall Street Journal May 10, 2026

The barkeep pours small glasses of Fundador brandy as a nod to our project, the fuel that fed peak drama at Milano and Suizo.

From Salon Nov. 8, 2025

Wisconsin, land of cheese curds and brats and brandy Old Fashioneds.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 29, 2025

Odenigbo waited for Ugwu to serve the brandy and leave before he said, “I asked Richard to stop coming here.”

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The hydration break arrived and it wasn't liquid that the underdogs needed, it was oxygen, smelling salts, large brandies.

From BBC Jun. 25, 2026

And in an equally symbolic move, the Chinese side said that for now, the brandies would have a reprieve.

From Los Angeles Times May 9, 2024

Small businesses producing sljivovica and other fruit brandies have sprouted in recent years, offering modern packaging with ethnic-style designs.

From Seattle Times Nov. 17, 2022

Other activities include a tapas tour in Madrid, visits to wineries and a tasting of Spanish brandies.

From New York Times May 6, 2016

The two brandies came out roughly the same.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Since I don’t have a French-army-camp-size skillet, I adapted my Marengo for the oven, where I can gently cook eight chicken thighs in brandied sauce without having to hover over the stove using multiple pans.

From Washington Post Mar. 12, 2023

It’s really a kind of simplified version of brandied cherries.

From New York Times May 6, 2022

What makes them killer is replacing the maraschino cherries in the original recipe with good quality brandied ones.

From Salon Dec. 17, 2016

For the last week of 2011, June is recommending the play Stick Fly, which is about an African-American family on Martha’s Vineyard, and Bernard Callebaut brandied cherries, which are only available seasonally.

From Slate Dec. 29, 2011

Madam’s list of required delicacies was endless: gingerbread, pies of brandied peaches and preserved cherries and mincemeat, macaroons, blancmange, Jordan almonds, sugar candy, as many kinds of cake as there were fingers on both hands.

From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson

Large billboards brandying buzzwords like “blockchain” and “Web3” filled the streets and took many longtime conference-goers by surprise.

From Washington Post Jan. 18, 2023

Peaches and pears should be peeled for brandying.

From The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) Cooking, Toilet and Household Recipes, Menus, Dinner-Giving, Table Etiquette, Care of the Sick, Health Suggestions, Facts Worth Knowing, Etc., Etc. The Whole Comprising a Comprehensive Cyclopedia of Information for the Home by Gillette, F. L. (Fanny Lemira)

Ropiness was cured by repeated rackings and by brandying, eight gallons per pipe being the normal ratio.

From To the Gold Coast for Gold A Personal Narrative in Two Volumes.—Volume I by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training