keg
Americannoun
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kegs
plural
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a small cask or barrel, usually holding from 5 to 10 gallons (19 to 38 liters).
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a unit of weight, equal to 100 pounds (45 kilograms), used for nails.
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Also kegger. a keg party; beer bust.
noun
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a small barrel with a capacity of between five and ten gallons
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an aluminium container in which beer is transported and stored
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Also called: keg beer. beer kept in a keg: it is infused with gas and served under pressure
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of keg
1585–95; earlier cag < Old Norse kaggi
Explanation
A keg is a metal container for liquids, especially beer. A keg typically holds less than thirty gallons. Bars and pubs have plenty of kegs, each containing different brands and types of beer, and occasionally they'll also have kegs of root beer or other soft drinks. When a large quantity of carbonated liquid is needed, a keg works well because it keeps its contents under pressure. The original kegs were made of wood, and in addition to beverages, they also held things like gunpowder and nails. Keg comes from the Old Norse kaggi, "cask or keg."
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:
It was a powder keg waiting to blow.
From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026
In 1768 King George III filled Boston with armed troops, creating a powder keg; in two years the spark of a single rifle shot would explode the Boston Massacre.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
Dahlia Lithwick: I find the public-facing discourse around shootings to be impoverished, dangerous, and a powder keg on its own terms.
From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2025
"It's a powder keg now and we need to get something done and we need the Home Office to listen," he added.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2025
Johnston should not have compared the mountain to a keg of dynamite.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
Is the U.S. now a nation that sings like Argentina, rows like Norway and punishes beer kegs like the thirsty Scottish Tartan Army?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
To prepare for Thursday’s night’s match against Tunisia, Wallingford had 35 kegs of beer cooling and 400 croquettes—a Dutch fried snack—shipped from out of town.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
One of the most valuable assets owned by Lancaster University is stored in beer kegs.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
During the late 2000s, when Pliny the Younger became the most sought-after ale in North America, Brouwer’s had kegs of the triple IPA squirrelled away.
From Seattle Times ● May 28, 2024
At the far end of the yard, three silver kegs sat in the middle of an inflatable pool full of ice.
From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
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.
