vinegar

[ vin-i-ger ]
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noun
  1. a sour liquid consisting of dilute and impure acetic acid, obtained by acetous fermentation from wine, cider, beer, ale, or the like: used as a condiment, preservative, etc.

  2. Pharmacology. a solution of a medicinal substance in dilute acetic acid, or vinegar.

  1. sour or irritable speech, manner, or countenance: a note of vinegar in his voice.

  2. Informal. vigor; high spirits; vim.

Origin of vinegar

1
1250–1300; Middle English vinegre<Old French, equivalent to vinwine + egre, aigre sour (see eager)

Other words from vinegar

  • vin·e·gar·like, adjective

Words Nearby vinegar

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use vinegar in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for vinegar

vinegar

/ (ˈvɪnɪɡə) /


noun
  1. a sour-tasting liquid consisting of impure dilute acetic acid, made by oxidation of the ethyl alcohol in beer, wine, or cider. It is used as a condiment or preservative

  2. sourness or peevishness of temper, countenance, speech, etc

  1. pharmacol a medicinal solution in dilute acetic acid

  2. US and Canadian informal vitality

verb
  1. (tr) to apply vinegar to

Origin of vinegar

1
C13: from Old French vinaigre, from vin wine + aigre sour, from Latin acer sharp

Derived forms of vinegar

  • vinegarish, adjective
  • vinegar-like, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012