beer

noun

ˈbir 

1

: a carbonated, fermented alcoholic beverage that is usually made from malted cereal grain (especially barley), is flavored with hops, and typically contains less than a 5% alcohol content compare ale, craft beer, lager entry 1, malt liquor sense 2

2

: a carbonated nonalcoholic or a fermented slightly alcoholic beverage with flavoring from roots or other plant parts

birch beer

3

: fermented mash

4

: a drink of beer

Examples of beer in a Sentence

Would you like beer with dinner?

The pub brews its own beer.

I'll have a beer, please.

a couple of cold beers

a glass of birch beer

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile, ribs are devoured, beer is guzzled and, when conflict ratchets up, shots are thrown back. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024

Festival food includes sushi, spam musubi, gyoza, yakisoba, mochi, teriyaki chicken rice bowls, shave ice, cotton candy and bento boxes with pork cutlet, teriyaki salmon or sesame tofu, with iced coffee, boba drinks, beer, sake, plum wine, sodas and lemonade to wash it all down. —Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2024

Non-alcoholic beer sales keep climbing On this National Beer Day, perhaps more imbibers than ever will pop the top on a non-alcoholic beer. —Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2024

The beer and the actual blue moon come around far more frequently than a total solar eclipse, but the beverage pairs well with the rarest of celestial events. —Jason Rossi, The Enquirer, 5 Apr. 2024

The restaurant’s bar serves several local beers on tap, including Lagunitas, Stone, Coronado Brewing Co., Ale Smith, Karl Strauss, Pizza Port, Eppig, Mother Earth and Mike Hess. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2024

In recent months, brewing equipment, beer glasses, and handmade wooden tables have been delivered. —Amanda Hancock, The Courier-Journal, 5 Apr. 2024

What time do stores stop selling alcohol in Arizona? Liquor stores, as well as beer and wine vendors, cannot sell alcohol from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. every day. —Laura Daniella Sepulveda, The Arizona Republic, 5 Apr. 2024

Enjoy Craft Beers Sip on local brews at Starr Hill, the second oldest craft brewery in Virginia; do-gooders should order The Love, a light wheat beer that gives back to Lynchburg charities. —Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ber, going back to Old English bēor, akin to Old High German bior "beer," Old Norse bjórr; perhaps all going back to a dissimilated form of Germanic *breura-, a nominal derivative of *brewwan- "to brew entry 1"

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing beer

• beer and skittles
• beer belly
• near beer
• craft beer
• root beer
• spruce beer
• small beer
• ginger beer
• beer pong
• beer gut
• beer mat
• beer goggles
• lager beer

Kids Definition

beer

noun

ˈbi(ə)r 

1

: an alcoholic drink made from malt and flavored with hops

2

: a nonalcoholic drink made from roots or other parts of plants

birch beer