cognac
noun
the brandy distilled in and shipped from the legally delimited area surrounding the town of Cognac, in W central France.
cognac
American
[kohn-yak, kon-, kaw-nyak]
/ ˈkoʊn jæk, ˈkɒn-, kɔˈnjak /
noun
-
cognacs
plural
-
(often initial capital letter) the brandy distilled in and shipped from the legally delimited area surrounding the town of Cognac, in W central France.
-
any French brandy.
-
any good brandy.
Cognac
British
/ kɔɲak, ˈkɒnjæk /
noun
-
a town in SW France: centre of the district famed for its brandy. Pop: 19 534 (1999)
-
(sometimes not capital) a high-quality grape brandy
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cognac
Borrowed into English from French around 1585–95
Compare meaning
How does cognac 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:
For a VS cognac, that means projecting what will happen in two years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
These included a cognac label, a tequila brand, and three rhum agricole, or sugarcane juice rums, labels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
The businessman, who made his money in cognac and real estate, had renounced his Ukrainian citizenship some years ago.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
They are not empty threats for the EU since China previously slapped duties on European cognac and conducted anti-dumping probes into pork and dairy products.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
“Cheery oh. Cheery oh to you, Miss. What a lovely girl. I will bring you better cognac than that.”
From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
Within this Cognac sales were down 0.5% organically to 573.6 million euros, while its partner brand sales were 23% lower at 15.6 million euros.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
The firm represents brands such as Isabel Marant, Clinique and Hennessy Cognac and includes a strategic corporate communications division.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2026
Last year, still adapting to its exit from the European Union, Britain introduced a system of “geographical indicators” intended to replace a pan-European system meant to protect products like Champagne and Cognac from imitations.
From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2024
I have zero personal connection to the dish steak Diane, which consists of pan-fried steak served in a piquant sauce made from pan drippings, cream, Cognac, shallots and Worcestershire or Dijon mustard.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2023
Yet there were forty-two waggons immobilized at Cognac, 729 at Blanc-Mesnil and 121 standing laden with barbed wire and other materials for over a year!
From England and Germany by William Morris Hughes
Maybe CFB should go Waymo, blame the robots for any uproar about gatekeeping and big-school elitism and let the smoke-filled room return to cognacs and afternoon naps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
Macron brought up some particularly French concerns, including China’s threat of tariffs on cognacs.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2024
For long, rum has been relegated to the bottom shelf of bar cabinets around the world with whiskeys, cognacs and gins taking prime slots.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2023
There’s a brass lamp from Rick’s, fringed with imitation gemstones, and two rattan chairs where Europe’s desperate and displaced drank their cognacs and plotted their escapes.
From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2022
But the two fish-buyers, who had had both one and two cognacs with their coffee, were quite taken up with her.
From Norse Tales and Sketches by Alexander Lange Kielland
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