perry

perry — noun

1. an alcoholic drink produced from pear juice, sometimes with bubbles and a sweet

1.nounC2
Definition

an alcoholic drink produced from pear juice, sometimes with bubbles and a sweet taste.

Example

At the village fair, Ben bought a cold glass of perry.

a glass of perry

Perry was served with cheese after the farmers brought in pears.

passive: be served with cheese

Common collocations
  • sparkling perry
  • sweet perry
  • dry perry
  • make perry
  • serve perry with cheese
Synonyms
  • pear cider

    a descriptive phrase used when the listener may not know the traditional word

  • cider

    usually suggests an apple drink unless you clearly mention pears

  • fruit wine

    a broader category that can include pear drinks but is less exact

Grammar Patterns

drink perry

make perry

a glass of perry

a bottle of perry

Usage Note

Usually treated as an uncountable drink name. For one serving, say a glass of perry or a bottle of perry.

Common Mistakes

We bought two perries for lunch.
We bought two bottles of perry for lunch.
the drink name is usually uncountable, so count the container instead.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For this sense, 'perry' is the exact name of an alcoholic drink made from pears. 'Pear cider' is a useful explaining phrase for people who know 'cider' but not 'perry', though it sounds less traditional on a label or menu. 'Cider' by itself usually makes people think of apples, so it can be unclear unless the pear idea is added. 'Mead' is another alcoholic drink, but it is made from honey, not pears, so it belongs to a different drink tradition. On a farm-shop sign or bottle, 'perry' is the most precise choice. You can say, 'We tried a dry perry with local cheese,' but not 'mead' if the drink came from pears.

perry ↗pear cidercidermead

Common collocations

Nouns

  • glass of perry
  • bottle of perry

Phrases

  • drink perry
  • make perry
  • serve perry with cheese

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The drink name came into English through French forms built from the word for 'pear'. Those forms go back to Latin roots meaning 'pear'. In English, 'perry' has long referred to an alcoholic drink made from pear juice, alongside cider from apples.