whiskey
noun
an alcoholic liquor distilled from a fermented mash of grain, as barley, rye, or corn, and usually containing from 43 to 50 percent alcohol.
whiskey
American
[hwis-kee, wis-]
/ ˈʰwɪs ki, ˈwɪs- /
Or
whisky
noun
-
whiskeys
plural
-
an alcoholic liquor distilled from a fermented mash of grain, as barley, rye, or corn, and usually containing from 43 to 50 percent alcohol.
-
a drink of whiskey.
-
a word used in communications to represent the letter W.
adjective
Whiskey
1
British
/ ˈwɪskɪ /
noun
whiskey
2
British
/ ˈwɪskɪ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of whiskey
1705–15; short for whiskybae < Irish uisce beatha or Scots Gaelic uisge beatha, ultimately translation of Medieval Latin aqua vitae literally, water of life; cf. usquebaugh
Vocabulary lists containing whiskey
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:
China's import list includes more than 1,600 categories of American goods, including meats -- beef, pork, poultry and seafood -- grains, dairy, whiskey, coal and timber.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Think about drinks produced in Ireland and you'd probably picture a creamy pint of stout or a tumbler of amber whiskey.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Boycotts of U.S. whiskey have decimated a key economic driver for the American South.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
Honorable mention: Norway’s star striker Erling Haaland, who went viral for bringing home a taxidermy raccoon holding a whiskey bottle that he reportedly bought for $750 from Wild Bill’s Western Store in Dallas.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
Those parties have a very international flair, what with the scotch whiskey, American LPs, and the embassy gossip.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Appeared in the September 14, 2026, print edition as 'Vow to Lift Irish Whiskey Tariff'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Buffalo Bill’s, the largest of the three resorts, closed 24-7 operations in July 2025, after Whiskey Pete’s, the original casino, shuttered in December 2024.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
Roach said, among his plans, would be reopening Whiskey Pete’s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
Sazerac, whose brands include Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, Buffalo Trace bourbon and Parrot Bay rum, initially connected with 818 when the brand did a collaboration with its Traveller Whiskey, created by country singer Chris Stapleton.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
I dreamed last night that you came here to Chicago, and we rode my mule, Whiskey, past Potter Palmer’s emporium and ate fried bread on Lake Street.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Angel’s Envy will soon sell 50 mL bottles of one of its whiskeys.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
All whiskeys have what’s called a mash bill.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 27, 2023
For long, rum has been relegated to the bottom shelf of bar cabinets around the world with whiskeys, cognacs and gins taking prime slots.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2023
While there are still fewer nonalcoholic tequilas than, say, nonalcoholic whiskeys or gins, we tried a wide range of currently available options and found plenty worth drinking.
From Salon ● May 3, 2022
There had been the bar—Irish whiskeys and a pinball game with Bram, Sophie’s face blue in the sleazy neon light.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
