Merlot

[mur-loh; French mer-loh]

See more synonyms for Merlot on Thesaurus.com

noun

a dark-blue grape used in winemaking, especially in the Bordeaux region of France and in areas of Italy, Switzerland, and California.

Origin of Merlot

< French: literally, young blackbird, derivative of merle merle¹, probably alluding to the color of the grape

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for merlot

merlot, burgundy, cabernet, claret, pinot, shiraz

Examples from the Web for merlot

Contemporary Examples of merlot

He ordered a glass of Merlot and I gave him, as a gift, the audio version of my memoir for which I had done the reading.
Pablo Schreiber on His New Off-Broadway Play
Kevin Sessums
February 1, 2011
We had over 175 tons picked and in by September 25, so we only had four small lots of Merlot left when the rains came.
An Old-Fashioned Wine Harvest
Sophie Menin
October 18, 2010
When treated with respect, Merlot outperforms Cab for both quality and value.
The Great Cabernet Ripoff
Keith Wallace
July 14, 2009

Historical Examples of merlot

The best Bordeaux wine de ctes is made with the grape called noir de pressac, the bochet, and the merlot.
Memoranda on Tours, Touraine and Central France.
J. H. Holdsworth

British Dictionary definitions for merlot

Merlot

noun (sometimes not capital)

a black grape grown in France and now throughout the wine-producing world, used, often in a blend, for making wine
any of various wines made from this grape

Word Origin for Merlot

from French merlot, literally: young blackbird, diminutive of merle merle 1, probably alluding to the colour of the grape

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