vinegar
Americannoun
-
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.
-
Pharmacology. a solution of a medicinal substance in dilute acetic acid, or vinegar.
-
sour or irritable speech, manner, or countenance.
a note of vinegar in his voice.
-
Informal. vigor; high spirits; vim.
noun
-
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
-
sourness or peevishness of temper, countenance, speech, etc
-
pharmacol a medicinal solution in dilute acetic acid
-
informal vitality
verb
Other Word Forms
- vinegar-like adjective
- vinegarish adjective
- vinegarlike adjective
Etymology
Origin of vinegar
1250–1300; Middle English vinegre < Old French, equivalent to vin wine + egre, aigre sour ( eager )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A splash of white wine or rice vinegar sharpens the whole skillet, lifting the richness without thinning it.
From Salon
Then, while they were still warm, I’d do something crucial: ladle over more golden olive oil, a shake of oregano, red pepper flakes, and a splash of red wine vinegar.
From Salon
All my spices and rice paper noodles; canned goods, condiments, vinegars, oils.
And then there are the finishing touches: cream, fresh herbs, a slick of oil, a splash of vinegar—the small, deliberate choices that make a soup feel finished rather than merely done.
From Salon
There’s the Italian-style pasta salad, tossed in olive oil and vinegar and studded with olive-bar favorites — roasted red pepper, artichoke hearts, basil — and perhaps some deli stalwarts, like chopped cured meats or cheeses.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
