What does "beer" mean?
An alcoholic drink fermented from starch material, commonly barley malt; often with hops or some other substance (like gruit) to impart a bitter flavor.
Beer
/bɪə/ [bɪː]/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An alcoholic drink fermented from starch material, commonly barley malt; often with hops or some other substance (like gruit) to impart a bitter flavor.
- Grammar: beer is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: ale, brew, ales, amber fluid.
- Useful contrasts: nonalcoholic beverage, nonbeer beverage, water.
- Usage evidence: The bottles of beer that I brought to the party were redundant; the host's family owned a brewery.
How to use "beer"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "beer" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "beer" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "beer" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "beer" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "beer" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ale" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "beer", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An alcoholic drink fermented from starch material, commonly barley malt; often with hops or some other substance (like gruit) to impart a bitter flavor. uncountable
"Beer is brewed all over the world."
- 2 One who is or exists. nonstandard
"That meant, among other things, that he was going to be a fast-moving doer. And even when he was three or four, it wasn't hard for me to know that this wasn't going to be easy. Because Albert was a beer. Born that way."
- 3 a general name for alcoholic beverages made by fermenting a cereal (or mixture of cereals) flavored with hops wordnet
- 4 A fermented extract of the roots and other parts of various plants, as spruce, ginger, sassafras, etc. uncountable
- 5 A solution produced by steeping plant materials in water or another fluid. uncountable
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A glass, bottle, or can of any of the above beverages. countable
"I bought a few beers from the shop for the party."
- 7 A variety of the above beverages. countable
"Pilsner is one of the most commonly served beers in Europe."
Verb
- 1 To give beer to (someone). informal, transitive
"No doubt he then can feed us, wine us, beer us, And cook us something that can warm and cheer us."
- 2 To drink beer. informal, intransitive
"In Japan, students on a Friday night announce “Let's beer!”"
Proper Noun
- 1 A village in East Devon district, Devon, England.
- 2 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The bottles of beer that I brought to the party were redundant; the host's family owned a brewery."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "beer"?
Common synonyms include: ale, brew, ales, amber fluid, amber nectar, bitter.
How do you use "beer" in a sentence?
The bottles of beer that I brought to the party were redundant; the host's family owned a brewery.
How do you pronounce "beer"?
Pronounced /bɪə/ [bɪː]/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English bere, from Old English bēor (“beer”) (Oxford OED notes: "rare, except in poetry"), from Proto-West Germanic *beuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *beuzą (“beer”) (putatively from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewsóm), meaning “brewer's yeast”. However, also see the "beer" entry on EtymOnline (q.v.), which links a connection to monastic Vulgar Latin *biber (“a drink, beverage”), from Latin bibere (“to drink”). Samuel Johnson in his famous 18th-century A Dictionary of the English Language guessed it was from (unattested) Welsh *bîr; he distinguished it in his time from ale — the ancient usual word — by beer being older-aged and/or smaller. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Bjoor (“beer”), West Frisian bier (“beer”), Dutch bier (“beer”), German Low German Beer (“beer”), German Bier (“beer”), dialectal Swedish bjor, bör (“beer”), Norwegian Nynorsk bjor (“beer”), Faroese bjór (“beer”), Icelandic bjór (“beer”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English beere, equivalent to be + -er.
Etymology 3
From Old English bearu (“grove”), from Proto-West Germanic *baru, from Proto-Germanic *barwaz (“grove”).
Etymology 4
* As an English surname, from the place name in Devon (see Etymology 1 above); also from Old English bār (“boar”). * As a north German and Dutch surname, from beer (“bear”). See also the surnames Baer and Bahr. * As an Alemannic German surname, spelling variant of Bier (“beer”).