lager
1 Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of lager
1835–45; short for lager beer, half adoption, half translation of German Lagerbier. See lair 1, beer
Explanation
Lager is a common type of beer. When someone in a movie bellies up to a bar and orders a well-known brand of beer, it's usually a lager. Brewers distinguish lagers from other beers by the yeast used to ferment it, as well as its light color and what's often described as the "crisp" taste of a lager. This type of beer was first invented in 15th-century Bavaria. The name lager comes from lager beer and its German source, Lagerbier, or "beer brewed for keeping," a reference to the practice of storing lager in cold places while it matures.
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.
Heineken—which alongside its namesake lager brand makes Amstel, Desperados and Birra Moretti—said it expects operating earnings to grow between 2% and 6% this year, backing guidance it set out earlier in the year.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
In lager beers, foam stability is controlled by surface viscoelasticity.
From Science Daily • Nov. 29, 2025
“I’m more of a lager guy,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 27, 2025
In October, Reynolds and McElhenney announced they had taken co-ownership of Wrexham Lager which already sponsors Wrexham AFC and is said to be the oldest British lager brewery still in existence.
From BBC • Dec. 14, 2024
He missed land and good food and better lager.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
