Brew

Pronunciation

• enPR: broÍžo, IPA: /bruː/
• Rhymes: -uː

Origin

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

Full definition of brew

Verb

1. (transitive) To prepare (usually a beverage) by steeping and mingling; to concoct.
• William ShakespeareGo, brew me a pottle of sack finely.
2. (transitive) To foment or prepare, as by brewing; to contrive; to plot; to hatch.
• John MiltonHence with thy brewed enchantments, foul deceiver!
3. (intransitive) To attend to the business, or go through the processes, of brewing or making beer.
• William ShakespeareI wash, wring, brew, bake, scour.
4. (intransitive) To be in a state of preparation; to be mixing, forming, or gathering.
• William ShakespeareThere is some ill a-brewing towards my rest.
• 2011, January 11, Jonathan Stevenson, West Ham 2 - 1 Birmingham, Grant may have considered that only a performance of the very highest quality could keep him in a job - and the way his players started the game gave the 55-year-old shelter from the storm that was brewing.
5. (transitive, obsolete) To boil or seethe; to cook.

Noun

1. The mixture formed by brewing; that which is brewed; a brewage.
2. (slang) A beer.
3. (British, NZ) A cup of tea.
4. (British, NZ) The act of making a cup of tea.
5. (British, informal) A hill.

Derived terms

• brewage
• brewer
• brewhouse