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hard cider

hard cider

2 3.3
A drink made from apples that has alcohol
  • noun
  • /hɑrd ˈsaɪdər/
  • US
translation icon : sidra dura
  • A few selections of hard cider from the Cider Saloon at the Arts Block on Friday night.
  • a cup of hard cider
  • make hard cider
  • alcohol in hard cider

Examples

  • He didn't drink beer, and so at first remained sober; but then he discovered the hard cider that pubs carried.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The sole African American, excluded from the voting process, stands at the left edge of the canvas serving hard cider.

    Blog text (23)
  • I brought the hard cider and chocolate, and we joined five other ladies for a wonderful evening!

    Blog text (22)
  • Hard cider would be great.

    Blog text (9)
  • Northern Natural Organics: where we sampled a flight of hard ciders.

    Blog text (17)
  • Most apples would be used to feed the hogs or to make vinegar or hard cider.

    Blog text (1)
  • "Crisp and refreshing" are the terms most often applied to fine hard cider, and I like cider with a clean acidic line.

    Blog text (3)
  • I've got a hard cider and a bag of Crossbone Crunch.

  • It might have been in 1840, in the famous "log cabin and hard cider" campaign mounted by the Whig Party for its candidate, Gen. William Henry Harrison.

    Blog text (5)
  • At the local bar, I ordered a refreshing hard cider to enjoy with my meal.

Synonyms

cider
vshard cider
76 1.5

A drink made from pressed apples that can be alcoholic or non-alcoholic

is specifically the alcoholic fermented version rather than any apple juice drink
cyder
vshard cider
  • Archaic
8.3

An alcoholic drink made from fermented apple juice

is the same meaning but written with the more common modern spelling
scrumpy
vshard cider
  • UK
9.9

A strong, rough-tasting cider made from apples

is a milder common alcoholic apple drink rather than a strong regional type

Antonyms

40 1.0

A drink without alcohol that has bubbles, like soda or lemonade

How Alcoholic

hard cider
  • US
2 3.3
cider
76 1.5
sweet cider
  • US
2.3
apple juice
31 1.0

Surface Forms

hard cider singular
hard ciders plural

Morphology

hard + cyder

The meaning is directly compositional: 'hard' here marks an alcoholic/strong variant and 'cider' is an apple-based drink, so 'hard cider' transparently means an alcoholic apple drink. English commonly uses 'hard' to signal alcoholic beverages (e.g., hard liquor, hard seltzer) and similar distinctions exist cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Hard cider gets its name from the simple idea that apple juice, called cider, was left to turn into alcohol and the word hard was added to show it was 'alcoholic' rather than a 'sweet' apple drink. That's why hard cider means an alcoholic drink made by fermenting apple juice.