cider

American  

[sahy-der] / ˈsaɪ dər /

British, cyder

noun

• ciders
  plural

1. the juice pressed from apples (or formerly from some other fruit) used for drinking, either before fermentation sweet cider or after fermentation hard cider, or for making applejack, vinegar, etc.

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cider British  

/ ˈsaɪdə /

noun

1. Also called (US): hard cider. an alcoholic drink made from the fermented juice of apples

2. Also called: sweet cider. an unfermented drink made from apple juice

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ciderish
  adjective
• ciderlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ciders
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cider

1250–1300; Middle English sidre < Middle French < Old French si ( s ) dre < Late Latin sīcera strong drink < Septuagint Greek sī́kera < Hebrew shēkhār (Levit. 10:9); replacing Middle English sithere < Old French sidre

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Explanation

Cider is an unfiltered juice or fermented beverage made from apples. In the fall, there's nothing like a mug of hot, spiced cider. Apple cider is a darker-colored, unsweetened version of apple juice — the main difference is that cider is fresh, with a short shelf life, and it isn't filtered. Another kind of cider is this same pressed apple juice, allowed to ferment and become alcoholic. This is often called "hard cider." The word comes from the Old French cidre, "pear or apple cider," ultimately from the Hebrew shekhar, "strong drink."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cider ciders

Weakness in Twisted Tea, Truly hard seltzer, and Samuel Adams outweighed growth in Sun Cruiser and Angry Orchard cider, the company said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

I spent the summer watching farmers install showers for cows, watch their cauliflowers burn to a crisp in the heat, and search for apples in cider orchards reduced to a tenth of their normal crop.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Then, incorporating this week’s lesson, white balsamic or apple cider vinegar keeps the root vegetables’ sweetness from becoming cloying.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

Black vendors set up stalls where they sold gingerbread, fruit, cider and oysters to attendees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

Basically, he’s not the kind of person who’d walk two mugs of cider across a snowy field without good reason.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

“It’s the name most people know at grocery stores,” said Eddie Brennan, the president of family-owned Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards in LaFayette, N.Y., makers of 1911 Established ciders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 25, 2025

Lower-priced wines are doing particularly badly as young adults favor craft beers, seltzers, kombucha, ciders and other flavored beverages with little or no alcohol.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2025

Thatchers had claimed Aldi was "misleading shoppers to believe that the ciders are the same, or in some way linked".

From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2025

Ironbound Farm and Ciderhouse’s Harrison Heritage Collection features ciders made from the nearly lost Harrison apple, a variety they’ve been instrumental in reviving.

From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2024

In my youth in the Transkei, I listened to the ciders of my tribe telling stories of the old days.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

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