Burgundy
Americannoun
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Burgundies
plural
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French Bourgogne. a region in central France: a former kingdom, duchy, and province.
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any of various wines, red and white, mostly still, full, and dry, produced in the Burgundy region.
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(often lowercase) any of various red wines with similar characteristics made elsewhere.
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(lowercase) a grayish red-brown to dark blackish-purple color.
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Also called Burgundy sauce. a sauce made with red wine and thickened with an espagnole sauce or kneaded butter, served with eggs, meat, fish, or poultry.
adjective
noun
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French name: Bourgogne. a region of E France famous for its wines, lying west of the Saône: formerly a semi-independent duchy; annexed to France in 1482
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another name for Franche-Comté
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a monarchy (1384–1477) of medieval Europe, at its height including the Low Countries, the duchy of Burgundy, and Franche-Comté
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a kingdom in E France, established in the early 6th century ad , eventually including the later duchy of Burgundy, Franche-Comté, and the Kingdom of Provence: known as the Kingdom of Arles from the 13th century
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any red or white wine produced in the region of Burgundy, around Dijon
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any heavy red table wine
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(often not capital) a blackish-purple to purplish-red colour
Usage
What does Burgundy mean? Burgundy, sometimes misspelled Burgandy, is a region in France known for its production of fine wine, which is also called Burgundy. Based on the wine, burgundy (lowercase B) is also used as a term for a shade of dark red.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Explanation
The deep red, purplish color of red beets and the leaves of some Japanese maple trees is burgundy. The burgundy color that the leaves of many pin oak trees turn in autumn is particularly stunning. Your sofa might be upholstered in burgundy velvet, and your favorite shoes might be made of shiny burgundy leather. In both cases, the color is such a deep red that it's nearly purple, or even black. The color known as burgundy comes from the wine of the same name, a dark, dry red wine that's traditionally made from grapes grown in and around Burgundy, France.
Vocabulary lists containing burgundy
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:
Later that month, thieves stole a gold torque necklace from a Celtic burial arrangement known as the Vix treasure at the Musée du Pays Châtillonnais, a museum in Burgundy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Red wines from Bordeaux were next, at 220 million euros, followed by whites from Burgundy at 170 million euros.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
Across the UK, the distribution of Duke of Burgundy butterflies has fallen by 89% since 1982, according to Buttery Conservation.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
There were fewer than 50 Duke of Burgundy butterflies in 2005, but this rose to nearly 600 last year, Butterfly Conservation said.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
In Harry’s shopping bag were: a Bordeaux, a Beaujolais, and a Burgundy.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
“I had tried some Burgundies, but nothing had made my socks roll up and down until I bought this bottle,” says Meadows, who has written a newsletter for 26 years about the region’s wines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
Two years later, Laborde has opened what he says is the first alcohol-free wine store in a country renowned the world over for its Bordeaux red wines and white Burgundies.
From Reuters ● Nov. 25, 2022
Mr. Walker, who is also the restaurant’s assistant sommelier, has contributed some of his personal cellar, especially Burgundies, to the wine list.
From New York Times ● Jun. 15, 2021
Kurniawan soon became a wine world darling as restaurant owners, Hollywood producers and billionaire Bill Koch purchased from his collection of Burgundies.
From Salon ● May 9, 2021
The great glory of Voisin's is its cellar of red wines, its Burgundies and Bordeaux.
From The Gourmet's Guide to Europe by Lieut.-Col. (Nathaniel) Newnham-Davis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
