What does "brew" mean?
The mixture formed by brewing; that which is brewed; a brewage, such as tea or beer.
Brew
/bɹuː/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The mixture formed by brewing; that which is brewed; a brewage, such as tea or beer.
- Grammar: brew is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: alcohol, alcoholic beverage, alcoholic drink, ale.
- Useful contrasts: clarity, foil, simplicity.
- Usage evidence: When you travel, you've got to try the local brew.
How to use "brew"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "brew" 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 "brew" 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 "brew" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "brew" 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 "brew" 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 "alcohol" 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 "brew", 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 The mixture formed by brewing; that which is brewed; a brewage, such as tea or beer.
"Six great bottles of one of the Hong Kong brews had been brought to wash down the brandy and the fragments of rice and mee and meat-fibres that clung to the back teeth."
- 2 An overhanging hill or cliff. British, dialectal
- 3 drink made by steeping and boiling and fermenting rather than distilling wordnet
- 4 The mixture formed by brewing; that which is brewed; a brewage, such as tea or beer.; A serving of beer. slang
"Player, give me some brew and I might just chill / But I'm the type that like to light another joint like Cypress Hill"
- 5 The mixture formed by brewing; that which is brewed; a brewage, such as tea or beer.; A cup of tea. British, slang
"Landlady: You're not stoppin' for a brew? Gene Hunt: No thanks, love. Better crack on."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A boiled concoction or mixture of liquids and other ingredients.
"In the Middle Ages, when witchcraft and thaumaturgic practices were rampant over Europe, sorceresses did a roaring trade in magic brews designed to excite the passion or to preserve affection."
Verb
- 1 To make tea or coffee by mixing tea leaves or coffee beans with hot water. intransitive, transitive
"Elderly people sat indoors, in the damp. shabby houses, brewing malt coffee or weak tea and talking without animation […]"
- 2 sit or let sit in boiling water so as to extract the flavor wordnet
- 3 To heat wine, infusing it with spices; to mull. transitive
"Go, brew me a pottle of sack finely."
- 4 prepare by brewing wordnet
- 5 To make a hot soup by combining ingredients and boiling them in water. intransitive, transitive
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 To make beer by steeping a starch source in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. intransitive, transitive
- 7 To foment or prepare, as by brewing. transitive
"Hence with thy brew’d inchantments, foul deceiver […]"
- 8 To attend to the business, or go through the processes, of brewing or making beer. intransitive
"I wash, wring, brew, bake, scour, dress meat and drink […]"
- 9 To be in a state of preparation; to be mixing, forming, or gathering. intransitive
"There is some ill a-brewing towards my rest,"
- 10 To boil or seethe; to cook. obsolete, transitive
"She had one day to get up very early in the morning to brew, when the other servants said to her: 'You had better mind you don't get up too early, and you mustn't put any fire under the copper before two o'clock.'"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"When you travel, you've got to try the local brew."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "brew"?
Common synonyms include: alcohol, alcoholic beverage, alcoholic drink, ale, angle, approach.
How do you use "brew" in a sentence?
When you travel, you've got to try the local brew.
How do you pronounce "brew"?
Pronounced /bɹuː/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English brewen, from Old English brēowan, from Proto-West Germanic *breuwan, from Proto-Germanic *brewwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁-. Doublet of burn. Cognate with Dutch brouwen, German brauen, Swedish brygga, Norwegian Bokmål brygge; also Ancient Greek φρέαρ (phréar, “well”), Latin fervēre (“to be hot; to burn; to boil”), Old Irish bruth (“violent, boiling heat”), Sanskrit भुर्वन् (bhurván, “motion of water”). It may be related to English barley.
Etymology 2
From Middle English brewe (“eyebrow”), from Old English bru (“eyebrow”). Doublet of brow.
Etymology 3
* As an Irish surname, Anglicized from Ó Brugha (“descendant of the farmer”), from brughaire (“farmer”), from brugh (“land”) + -aire. * As a Manx surname, Anglicized from MacVriw, from breitheamh (“deemster”); see Brain. * As a German and Alemannic German surname, Americanized from Breu, Breuer.