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Synonyms

soft drink

American  

noun

  1. a beverage that is not alcoholic or intoxicating and is usually carbonated, as root beer or ginger ale.

soft drink British  

noun

  1. a nonalcoholic drink, usually cold

"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

Etymology

Origin of soft drink

First recorded in 1875–80

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.

Sprite, a Coca-Cola brand, was named the official soft drink of the National Basketball Association on Tuesday, replacing PepsiCo’s Starry.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

For Coca-Cola, sparkling soft drink volumes were flat for the quarter, while trademark Coca-Cola volume grew 1%.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 10, 2026

The door of a blue fridge hung open, with soft drink cans on their side.

From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026

Last year, McDonald’s took a stab at appealing to cash-stretched customers with a $5 deal for a McDouble or McChicken sandwich, small fries, small soft drink and four-piece McNuggets.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 16, 2025

“I forgot about Papá. He’s probably dying of thirst. Here, let’s take two for him,” she said, picking up a seventh soft drink.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

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.