vinegar
Americannoun
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a sour liquid consisting of dilute and impure acetic acid, obtained by acetous fermentation from wine, cider, beer, ale, or the like: used as a condiment, preservative, etc.
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Pharmacology. a solution of a medicinal substance in dilute acetic acid, or vinegar.
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sour or irritable speech, manner, or countenance.
a note of vinegar in his voice.
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Informal. vigor; high spirits; vim.
noun
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a sour-tasting liquid consisting of impure dilute acetic acid, made by oxidation of the ethyl alcohol in beer, wine, or cider. It is used as a condiment or preservative
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sourness or peevishness of temper, countenance, speech, etc
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pharmacol a medicinal solution in dilute acetic acid
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informal vitality
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of vinegar
1250–1300; Middle English vinegre < Old French, equivalent to vin wine + egre, aigre sour ( see eager)
Explanation
Vinegar is a liquid that's commonly used in cooking for its tart, acidic flavor. You're probably familiar with the taste of vinegar from things like salad dressing and pickles. While you might not want to drink a glass of vinegar, it's a useful ingredient in many recipes, both for its flavor, which varies depending on how it's made, and its tenderizing properties. Vinegar can also be used for cleaning, freshening laundry, killing pests, and taking the sting off a bite from a jellyfish or wasp, among many other uses. Vinegar means "sour wine," and that's exactly what it is— juice that's fermented way beyond wine.
Vocabulary lists containing vinegar
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:
The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health recommends soaking leafy produce and fuzzy fruits like peaches in a 10% white vinegar and 90% water mixture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Make a quick dressing with vinegar, olive oil and a generous splash of olive brine.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026
It’s billed as different from “your average rib sandwich,” with ribs that have been hand-deboned, marinated in a proprietary barbecue-sauce blend with apple-cider vinegar, then slow-cooked for nine hours.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 29, 2026
And when it comes to building a menu, they’re leaning into pantry staples with personality from Flamingo Estate’s vinegar made from fuyu and hachiya persimmons to smoked sea-salt flakes from Maldon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
She watched her uncle maneuver salad greens, olive oil, vinegar, and several ingredients unknown to her with the same precision and assurances he employed on a difficult osteotomy.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
All my spices and rice paper noodles; canned goods, condiments, vinegars, oils.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
Look beyond the basics: fruity vinegars like raspberry or yuzu; deeply savory options like Chinese black or umeboshi plum; something aged, herbal, or faintly mysterious, ideally with a good label.
From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2025
If you've got lemons, garlic, fresh herbs, butter, honey and an interesting mix of oils, vinegars, mustards and the like, you've got the building blocks of limitless dishes.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2023
At least once a month, I trek from the Westside to the San Gabriel Valley in search of ground pork at $2 a pound, Taiwanese cabbage and a wider selection of vinegars and hot sauces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2023
The various kinds of vinegars are all made by this process.
From An Elementary Study of Chemistry by McPherson, William
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.
