(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.
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
Borrowed into English from French around 1585–95
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Strong cognac sales in China boosted Remy Cointreau’s RCO -0.96%decrease; red down pointing triangle sales at the start of the year, as the company eyes a path out of a recent tough patch.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
Sales of cognac dove 23.8 percent to 2.3 billion euros.
From Barron's • Feb. 10, 2026
“She’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever observed,” said Elizabeth Pierce of Newbury Park, the lone red baseball cap in a field of cognac loafers and Chanel-inspired skirt suits.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 10, 2025
For cognac producers in France, the prospect of a 25% US import tax is also a major problem as most of their produce is for export, either to the US or China.
From BBC • Mar. 12, 2025
“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
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.
