brew

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /bru/ UK /bruː/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like blue /l/ vs /r/

Meanings

1

verb
to make beer or tea by infusion or fermentation; a brewed drink

They learned to brew their own ale in the cellar.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make beer or tea by... ferment steep infuse concoct distill

Word family

Forms brewage

Derived forms brewer brewerybrewing

Related forms broth bread

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

brew tea
to steep tea leaves in hot water to extract their full flavour

Verb + noun
brew beer
to make beer through the brewing process

Verb + noun

Etymology

From Old English brēowan ('to brew'), from Proto-Germanic *breuwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrew- ('to boil, seethe').

brēowan Old English *breuwaną Proto-Germanic *bʰrew- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# brew

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /bru/
**IPA (UK):** /bruː/

## Meanings
1. to make beer or tea by infusion or fermentation; a brewed drink

## Examples
- They learned to brew their own ale in the cellar.

## Synonyms
- ferment
- steep
- infuse
- concoct
- distill

## Derived Forms
- brewer
- brewery
- brewing

## Related Forms
- broth
- bread

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: brēowan
- Root: *breuwaną
- Root: *bʰrew-

## Etymology
From Old English brēowan ('to brew'), from Proto-Germanic *breuwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrew- ('to boil, seethe').

## AI Etymology
Brew comes from Old English brēowan ('to brew'), from Proto-Germanic *breuwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrew- ('to boil, seethe'). The historical trail runs through brēowan in Old English, *breuwaną in Proto-Germanic, and *bʰrew- in Proto-Indo-European. Used as a verb and noun, brew now means "make beer or tea by infusion or fermentation; a brewed drink", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as brewer, brewery, and brewing and related forms such as broth and bread. The word is therefore part of the inherited Germanic layer of English, even where later usage has narrowed, broadened, or specialized the sense.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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