brew

brew — verb

1. to produce beer by preparing grain and other ingredients so the drink can fermen

1.verbtransitive / intransitive
Definition

to produce beer by preparing grain and other ingredients so the drink can ferment.

Example

The family brews beer in a small building behind the farm.

brew beer in + place

By autumn, Hiro hopes to brew enough lager for the village fair.

brew + beer type

Common collocations
  • brew beer
  • brew lager
  • brew at home
  • brew with local grain
Synonyms
  • make

    broader and less specific about the process

  • ferment

    more technical; focuses on one stage of the process

  • produce

    common in business contexts and less vivid

Grammar Patterns

brew beer

brew lager

brew with + ingredient

Usage Note

Often used with beer, ale, or a named style such as lager. In everyday speech, people may say 'make beer', but 'brew' is more specific and is common in hobby, food, and business contexts.

Common Mistakes

My uncle brews a factory beer.
My uncle brews beer at his factory.
'brew' takes the drink as its object, not the place where it is made.

2. to pour very hot water onto tea or coffee so it becomes drinkable, or for that d

2.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to pour very hot water onto tea or coffee so it becomes drinkable, or for that drink to stand and grow stronger in the pot or cup.

Example

Leila brewed fresh coffee before the first guests arrived.

brew coffee

Please let the tea brew for three minutes in the pot.

let + tea + brew

Common collocations
  • brew tea
  • brew coffee
  • let it brew
  • freshly brewed coffee
Synonyms
  • make

    everyday and less exact

  • steep

    focuses on leaving tea in hot water

  • prepare

    more general and less tied to tea or coffee

Grammar Patterns

brew tea

brew coffee

let + tea/coffee + brew

Usage Note

Only sense here that can be either transitive ('brew coffee') or intransitive ('the tea is brewing'). It is most natural with tea and coffee, not with every hot drink.

Common Mistakes

I will brew the kettle now.
I will brew some tea now.
You brew the drink, not the kettle or pot.

3. if anger, trouble, or bad weather is brewing, signs suggest it is gathering stre

3.verbintransitive
Definition

if anger, trouble, or bad weather is brewing, signs suggest it is gathering strength and will soon break out.

Example

By noon, anger was brewing outside the city hall gates.

anger was brewing

A storm brewed over the harbor as fishing boats returned.

storm brewed over + place

Common collocations
  • trouble brewing
  • anger brewing
  • a storm is brewing
  • panic brewed
Synonyms
  • develop

    neutral and broader

  • build

    often suggests pressure increasing

  • loom

    stronger and more literary; emphasizes threat

Antonyms
  • fade

    suggests the danger or feeling is becoming weaker

Grammar Patterns

trouble + brew

storm + brew

anger + be brewing

Usage Note

Usually appears with subjects like trouble, anger, protest, or storm. Unlike senses 1 and 2, this sense is figurative and normally does not take a direct object.

Common Mistakes

They brewed a problem at work.
A problem was brewing at work.
This sense is usually intransitive and describes trouble forming by itself.

brew — noun

Word family

  • brewer
    nounB2
  • brewery
    nounC1
  • brewing
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/2

For tea or coffee, brew is more exact than make because it points to the drink becoming ready in hot water. Make is the normal everyday verb when the process does not matter: 'I'll make coffee.' Steep is narrower and is mostly about leaving tea leaves in water for a period of time. Infuse is more formal and often appears in cooking, packaging, or product talk. Prepare is broad and works in many contexts, but it sounds less natural when you want the image of tea or coffee developing flavor. A good memory line is: you make breakfast, steep tea, but brew coffee.

make ↗steep ↗infuseprepare ↗

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Brew comes from Old English breowan, a verb for preparing a drink, especially beer, by working ingredients with liquid and time. The central idea was not simply 'make', but making a drink through a process. That older meaning still appears in modern English when people brew beer, tea, or coffee, and it also helps explain the figurative sense of trouble slowly forming.