Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To make (ale or beer) from malt and hops by infusion, boiling, and fermentation.
  • intransitive verb To make (a beverage) by boiling, steeping, or mixing various ingredients.
  • intransitive verb To concoct; devise.
  • intransitive verb To make ale or beer as an occupation.
  • intransitive verb To be made by boiling or steeping.
  • intransitive verb To be imminent; impend.
  • noun A beverage made by brewing.
  • noun A serving of such a beverage.
  • noun Something produced as if by brewing; a mix.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To produce as a beverage by fermentation; prepare (beer, ale, or other similar liquor) from malt, or from malt and hops, or from other materials, by steeping, boiling, and fermentation.
  • To prepare by mixing, boiling, or the like; mingle; mix; concoct: as, to brew a bowl of punch; “drinks brewed with several herbs,”
  • To contrive; plot; prepare: as, to brew mischief.
  • To conduct the operations or the business of brewing or making beer.
  • To be in a state of preparation; be mixing, forming, or collecting; be impending: chiefly in the present participle: as, a storm is brewing in the west.
  • noun The mixture formed by brewing; that which is brewed.
  • noun Obsolete form of bree (which see).

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To boil or seethe; to cook.
  • transitive verb To prepare, as beer or other liquor, from malt and hops, or from other materials, by steeping, boiling, and fermentation.
  • transitive verb To prepare by steeping and mingling; to concoct.
  • transitive verb To foment or prepare, as by brewing; to contrive; to plot; to concoct; to hatch.
  • noun The mixture formed by brewing; that which is brewed.
  • intransitive verb To attend to the business, or go through the processes, of brewing or making beer.
  • intransitive verb To be in a state of preparation; to be mixing, forming, or gathering.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To prepare (usually a beverage) by steeping and mingling; to concoct.
  • verb transitive To foment or prepare, as by brewing; to contrive; to plot; to hatch.
  • verb intransitive To attend to the business, or go through the processes, of brewing or making beer.
  • verb intransitive To be in a state of preparation; to be mixing, forming, or gathering.
  • verb transitive, obsolete To boil or seethe; to cook.
  • noun The mixture formed by brewing; that which is brewed; a brewage.
  • noun slang A beer.
  • noun UK, New Zealand A cup of tea.
  • noun UK, New Zealand The act of making a cup of tea.
  • noun UK, informal A hill.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb sit or let sit in boiling water so as to extract the flavor
  • noun drink made by steeping and boiling and fermenting rather than distilling
  • verb prepare by brewing

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English brewen, from Old English brēowan; see bhreu- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English brewen, from Old English brēowan, from Proto-Germanic *brewwanan, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreuh₁-, *bʰreh₁u- (compare Welsh berw ‘boiling’, Latin fervēre, Albanian mbruaj ("to knead"), Russian brujá ‘current’, Sanskrit bhurván ‘motion of water’).

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Examples

  • For mere pennies per pint, homemade brew is the new hobby de jour to save on the alcohol bill, and have more fun than a Corona can ever offer.

    Kari Henley: Budgeting Tips: De-Stress and Live With Less Kari Henley 2010

  • For mere pennies per pint, homemade brew is the new hobby de jour to save on the alcohol bill, and have more fun than a Corona can ever offer.

    Kari Henley: Budgeting Tips: De-Stress and Live With Less Kari Henley 2010

  • The Dawg, at least, awaits your arrival with anticipated pleasure and I must say you should love it here so if I´m in town (that would be Lake Chapala) the first brew is on me but the same goes for Highland Chiapas if I happen to be there at the time.

    fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera. 2009

  • The brew is very full bodied and satisfying, though some find the small amount of sediment and oils off-putting.

    Buying and brewing good coffee in Mexico 2009

  • The Dawg, at least, awaits your arrival with anticipated pleasure and I must say you should love it here so if I´m in town (that would be Lake Chapala) the first brew is on me but the same goes for Highland Chiapas if I happen to be there at the time.

    fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera. 2009

  • With a name that Wisconsin brew made famous, Dick Leinenkugel could shake up a Republican primary for U.S.

    POLITICAL HOT TOPICS: April 8, 2010 2010

  • The surprise ending of this ad — Cedric accidentally sprays his date with brew from a shaken Bud Light — ignited his career.

    Where are the stars of past Super Bowl ads now? 2009

  • The Dawg, at least, awaits your arrival with anticipated pleasure and I must say you should love it here so if I´m in town (that would be Lake Chapala) the first brew is on me but the same goes for Highland Chiapas if I happen to be there at the time.

    fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera. 2009

  • The Dawg, at least, awaits your arrival with anticipated pleasure and I must say you should love it here so if I´m in town (that would be Lake Chapala) the first brew is on me but the same goes for Highland Chiapas if I happen to be there at the time.

    fuel, food, utilities, taxes,et cetera. 2009

  • The brew is very full bodied and satisfying, though some find the small amount of sediment and oils off-putting.

    Buying and brewing good coffee in Mexico 2009

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