How do you use the word "vinegar" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "vinegar": Vinegar has a sharp taste. He rubs the stain with vinegar.

Vinegar Meaning

/ˈvɪnəɡəː/

Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounA sour liquid formed by the fermentation of alcohol used as a condiment or preservative; a dilute solution of acetic acid.

nounAny variety of vinegar.

Sentence Examples

Vinegar has a sharp taste.

He rubs the stain with vinegar.

You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.

CEFR Practice Quiz

The salad tasted sour because the chef added too much ____ to the dressing.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

She added a small amount of ____ to the salad dressing to give it a sharp and very tangy flavor today.

Word Origin & History

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *weh₁y-? Proto-Indo-European *-ō? Proto-Indo-European *wéyh₁ō Proto-Italic *wīnom Latin vīnum Old French vin Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱrós Proto-Italic *akris Classical Latin ācer Late Latin ācrus Old French aigre Old French vinaigrebor. Middle English vynegre English vinegar From Middle English vynegre, from Old French vinaigre from Old French vyn egre, based on Latin vīnum (“wine”) + Latin ācer (“sour”). Displaced Old English æċed (survived in Middle English eced).

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"In Persia, newly married couples were presented with sheep's trotters steeped in vinegar as a love enticement." — 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 220:

"You full of vinegar now, but you 'bout through / We gonna get a steam drill to do your share of driving / Then what's all them muscles gonna do? Huh, John Henry? / Gonna take a little bit of vinegar out of you." — 1962, “The Legend of John Henry's Hammer”, performed by Johnny Cash:

"[Rahm Emanuel] was full of vinegar on his proposal of mandatory retirement at age 75 for the president and the rest of the executive branch, as well as Congress and the judiciary." — 2026 January 24, Linda Feldmann, “Rahm Emanuel for president? A Monitor event with Chicago’s former mayor.”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

"Accordingly, after a vast amount of moaning and crying up-stairs, and much damping of foreheads, and vinegaring of temples, and hartshorning of noses, and so forth […]" — 1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge. Chapter 19.”, in Master Humphrey’s Clock, volume III, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC:

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