root beer

noun

1. a carbonated beverage flavored with syrup made from the extracted juices of roots, barks, and herbs that have been fermented with sugar and yeast.

root beer

noun

1. an effervescent drink made from extracts of various roots and herbs

Word History and Origins

Origin of root beer¹

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45

Example Sentences

He snapped off a branch to expose its aromatic bark, which historically has been used for soaps, teas, root beer, and medicines.

From Popular-Science

But even for those moments there is a root beer waiting in the fridge.

From The Daily Beast

And then he would say to nobody, 'Bring us three root-beer Popsicles!'

From The Daily Beast

His brush with topical humor: Obama invites Kanye and Taylor Swift to a root beer summit.

From The Daily Beast

And if lemonade and root beer and good strong coffee could have made people drunk, there would not have been one sober man there.

From Project Gutenberg

The first thing we did was to bury our bottle of root-beer in a pool up to its neck and mark the place with two white stones.

From Project Gutenberg

Bottles of root-beer and ginger ale mingled with sarsparilla in forming a shower of cooling drinks.

From Project Gutenberg

So far as the young people were concerned, the root-beer went much more rapidly than the boneset.

From Project Gutenberg

In a few minutes he was able to go with his friends and show them where the root-beer and soda-water bottles were hidden.

From Project Gutenberg