ginger ale

American

noun

a carbonated soft drink flavored with ginger extract.

ginger ale British

noun

a sweetened effervescent nonalcoholic drink flavoured with ginger extract

"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

ginger ales

plural

Etymology

Origin of ginger ale

First recorded in 1835–45

Compare meaning

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

ginger ale vs. ginger beer

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.

The son would respond, “a double,” and then take his ginger ale.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

The ginger ale is flatly branded Canada Dry.

From Salon • Feb. 15, 2026

Everything made my stomach turn—water, crackers, a hopeful sip of ginger ale; the things you’re supposed to try when you are sick.

From Slate • Sep. 15, 2024

If you approach everything as if it has meaning — misspelled signs, toilet figurines, the differences between 7-Up and ginger ale — well, then it does.

From New York Times • Aug. 31, 2023

As I reach into my purse for a tissue to blow the ginger ale out of my nose, I can't figure out what just happened.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023