quaff
Americanverb (used without object)
-
quaffs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
quaffed,
past participle, past
-
quaffing
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
quaffs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
quaffed,
past participle, past
-
quaffing
present participle
noun
-
an act or instance of quaffing.
-
a beverage quaffed.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
quaffsimple
-
quaffssimple
-
have quaffedperfect
-
has quaffedperfect
-
am quaffingprogressive
-
are quaffingprogressive
-
is quaffingprogressive
-
have been quaffingperfect progressive
-
has been quaffingperfect progressive
Past
-
quaffedsimple
-
had quaffedperfect
-
was quaffingprogressive
-
were quaffingprogressive
-
had been quaffingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of quaff
First recorded in 1515–25; origin uncertain
Explanation
To quaff is to gulp. You’re in a desert; you haven’t had water in days; you’re wicked thirsty. Then you find an oasis! You lean over and quaff the water. If you’re in a room with your favorite foods, you might stuff the food into your mouth. Quaffing is the same fun, but with beverages instead of foods. But just like with stuffing food, quaffing means you drink a little too much. Often, quaffing refers to alcoholic drinks, but it can mean any beverage in general, like milkshakes. Quaff a milkshake and you’ll get a headache, but you’ll have fun doing it.
Vocabulary lists containing quaff
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Twelfth Night
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Unruly salt-and-pepper hair in a long quaff, round glasses and broad smile give James Ortiz the look of a whimsical inventor, the kind that hides away in his workshop crafting extraordinary artifacts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026
Evict her and this garbage premise from your brain, and quaff happily as you will!
From New York Times ● Jul. 1, 2021
Rich guys like him can quaff as many $1,000 bottles of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2009 as they want, with twice as many calories per cup as Cherry Dr. Pepper.
From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2019
Texas Jack’s is that rare modern smokehouse that caters to the craft-drinking crowd — and its desire for refined places to quaff — without sacrificing the quality of its ’cue.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 2, 2018
I'm in the midst of taking a quaff of my ale and I nearly spit it all over the table.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
Patent absurdity, of course, as much then as now — no matter how many 3D-printed organs we churn out, how long we extend our telomeres, nor how many quaffs of plasma we down.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2023
In other Trump paintings on view, Saul paints the president’s blonde quaffs floating around a canvas.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 19, 2020
Before the quaffs of Champagne, though, I had to do some legwork.
From New York Times ● Sep. 20, 2016
Both the Port City Optimal Wit and the 3 Stars Above the Clouds, a refreshing farmhouse pale ale, are perfect summer quaffs.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 1, 2015
Sometimes, also, recourse is had to magic draughts of two kinds, the one of which strengthens him who quaffs it, while the other produces the opposite effect.
From Russian Fairy Tales A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore by William Ralston Shedden Ralston
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Chey quaffed whiskey at a fried chicken restaurant last month with the gusto of two billionaires at the pinnacle of the world’s AI investment bonanza.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
And Ken No. 2 star Liu commented on his doll’s perfectly quaffed hair: “I’m a little jealous to be honest.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2023
Those are the most delightful roles to play because you get to portray this one thing: this glossy, pretty, perfectly quaffed exterior.
From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2023
The Blonds partnered with Preciosa for the crystals seen in the show, Christian Louboutin for the custom shoes and Oribe Hair Care for the quaffed wigs, Blond said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 15, 2023
Chiswyck cackled, quaffed his ale, and wiped the foam away with the back of his hand.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
They were chatting with each other on the Signal app as they chowed down on steaks at the Palm while Hegseth white-knuckled it through everyone else at his table quaffing their Martinis and Negronis.
From Salon ● Mar. 25, 2025
The Friday before it was, well, Friday night in a shabby but hip capital full of hip bars and hip restaurants now crammed with hordes of not-so-hip journalists quaffing hip-but-tasty cocktails alongside hip-looking Kyivites.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2022
Pipeño is the quaffing wine of Chile, made to be consumed young and fresh and, until recently, almost never seen outside the country.
From New York Times ● Oct. 15, 2020
As cockle-warming as it is to imagine characters we know and love seeing out their days quaffing sangria and playing Articulate!, it obviously wouldn’t make for a very good film.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 21, 2020
She sat silent and still, her eyes persistently averted, quaffing deep draughts from a cup eternal, besides which even the nepenthe of the gods is evanescent.
From Woven with the Ship A Novel of 1865 by Cyrus Townsend Brady
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.
