cognac
Americannoun
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(often initial capital letter) the brandy distilled in and shipped from the legally delimited area surrounding the town of Cognac, in W central France.
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any French brandy.
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any good brandy.
noun
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a town in SW France: centre of the district famed for its brandy. Pop: 19 534 (1999)
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(sometimes not capital) a high-quality grape brandy
Etymology
Origin of cognac
Borrowed into English from French around 1585–95
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As he worked his way in closer, Mercader reported to Leonid Eitignon, a Soviet spymaster who “always appeared to be in control. A glass of cognac would last him an entire evening.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
Sales of cognac dove 23.8 percent to 2.3 billion euros.
From Barron's • Feb. 10, 2026
There's a 1912 cognac, from the birth year of the president's Scottish-born mother.
From BBC • Sep. 17, 2025
“She’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever observed,” said Elizabeth Pierce of Newbury Park, the lone red baseball cap in a field of cognac loafers and Chanel-inspired skirt suits.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 10, 2025
His darling “Lotje” has sent him eggs, butter, cookies, lemonade, bread, cognac, spice cake, flowers, oranges, chocolate, books and writing paper.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
