wine

American  

[wahyn] / waɪn /

noun

1. the fermented juice of grapes, made in many varieties, such as red, white, sweet, dry, still, and sparkling, for use as a beverage, in cooking, in religious rites, etc., and usually having an alcoholic content of 14 percent or less.

2. a particular variety of such fermented grape juice.

   port and sherry wines.

3. the juice, fermented or unfermented, of various other fruits or plants, used as a beverage, sauce, etc..

   gooseberry wine; currant wine.

4. a dark reddish color, as of red wines.

5. Pharmacology. vinum.

6. something that invigorates, cheers, or intoxicates like wine.

7. British.

   1. a social gathering at which wine is the major beverage.

   2. a party, especially one held by university students, for drinking wine.

8. Obsolete. intoxication due to the drinking of wine.

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adjective

1. dark red in color.

verb (used with object)

wined, wining

1. to supply with wine.

   He wined his cellar with rare vintages.

verb (used without object)

wined, wining

1. to drink wine.

idioms

1. new wine in old bottles, something new placed in or superimposed on an old or existing form, system, etc. Matthew 9:17.

2. wine and dine, to entertain lavishly.

   They wined and dined us in order to get us to sign the new contract.

wine British  

/ waɪn /

noun

1. 1. an alcoholic drink produced by the fermenting of grapes with water and sugar

   2. an alcoholic drink produced in this way from other fruits, flowers, etc

      elderberry wine

2. 1. a dark red colour, sometimes with a purplish tinge

   2. ( as adjective )

      wine-coloured

3. anything resembling wine in its intoxicating or invigorating effect

4. obsolete pharmacol fermented grape juice containing medicaments

5. a dialect word for water

6. something new added to or imposed upon an old or established order

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verb

1. (intr) to drink wine

2. to entertain or be entertained with wine and fine food

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• winish
  adjective
• wineless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of wine

First recorded before 900; Middle English (noun), Old English wīn (cognate with Dutch wijn, German Wein, Old Norse vīn, Gothic wein ), ultimately derived from Latin vīnum (cognate with Greek oînos )

Example Sentences

Ending work with his label and group, the rapper left for Europe where he made wine, licked his wounds and worked on music in isolation.

From Salon • Jun. 5, 2026

The amateur wine enthusiast learns to pronounce “gewürztraminer” and cannot resist doing so.

From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026

“Finally, somebody flipped a table, threw wine on somebody else, and all the voters started paying attention,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026

Borel, a congenial 39-year-old whose family owns the inn in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, thought their request to see the wine collection was strange, but he led them downstairs anyway.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026

The next course arrives and Celia returns to listening and observing, in between trying to figure out if the meat disguised in feather-light pastry and delicate wine sauce is actually lamb or something more exotic.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

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