ENGLISH
REFERENCE

drink

n. C / U
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈdɹɪŋk// UK //dɹˈɪŋk// drink Archaic General-service Informal

n. a liquid that you swallow, like water, juice, or coffee. You can also use this word to talk about a glass of alcohol.

n. a liquid intended for ingestion; a beverage. Frequently used to refer specifically to an alcoholic beverage in social contexts.


SIMPLE

Would you like a cold drink?

CONTEXTUAL

After the long hike, everyone was grateful for a refreshing drink of water from the fountain.

COMPLEX

The host offered a wide selection of drinks, ranging from artisanal sodas to vintage wines, ensuring every guest found something suitable for the toast.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English drinken, from Old English drincan (“to drink, swallow up, engulf”), from Proto-West Germanic drinkan, from Proto-Germanic drinkaną (“to drink”), of uncertain origin; possibly from Proto-Indo-European dʰrenǵ- (“to draw into one's mouth, sip, gulp”), nasalised variant of dʰreǵ- (“to draw, glide”). Cognates Cognate with Yola drink (“to drink”), North Frisian drank, drainke, drink, drinke (“to drink”), West Frisian drinke (“to drink”), Alemannic German trénge, trenhu, trinche, tringhien, trinke (“to drink”), Bavarian dringa, trinckn, trinkhn, trinkn (“to drink”), Cimbrian trinkan, trinkhan (“to drink”), Dutch, Low German drinken (“to drink”), German, Mòcheno trinken (“to drink”), Luxembourgish drénken (“to drink”), Yiddish טרינקען (trinken, “to drink”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål drikke (“to drink”), Elfdalian drikka (“to drink”), Faroese, Icelandic drekka (“to drink”), Jutish drenk (“to drink”), Norwegian Nynorsk drikka, drikke (“to drink”), Swedish dricka (“to drink”), Gothic 𐌳𐍂𐌹𐌲𐌺𐌰𐌽 (drigkan, “to drink”), Vandalic drincan (“to drink”), French trinquer (“to booze, drink alcohol”), Italian trincare (“to knock back (a drink)”), Spanish trincar (“to get drunk”).

Etymology 2

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *drinkaną Proto-Germanic *drunkiz Proto-West Germanic *drunki Old English drynċ Middle English drink English drink From Middle English drink, drinke (also as drinche, drunch), from Old English drynċ, from Proto-Germanic drunkiz, drankiz. Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Dronk (“drink”), Cimbrian gatrànkh (“drink”), Dutch drank, dronk (“drink”), German Getränk, trank, Trunk (“drink”), German Low German Drank, Drunk (“drink”), Vilamovian gytrenḱ (“drink”), Danish drik (“drink, beverage”), Icelandic drykkur (“drink, beverage”), Norwegian Bokmål drikk (“drink”), Norwegian Nynorsk drikk, drykk (“drink, alcohol”), Swedish dryck (“drink”), Gothic 𐌳𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌺 (draggk), 𐌳𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌺 (dragk, “drink”).

Usage

Uncountable when referring to liquid in general; countable when referring to a specific glass, bottle, or serving.

Idioms10 entries

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