low-alcohol

IPA/ˌləʊˈæl.kə.hɒl/
IPA/ˌloʊˈæl.kə.hɑːl/

low-alcohol — adjective

1. used about drinks where the alcohol content has been deliberately reduced below

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

used about drinks where the alcohol content has been deliberately reduced below the standard level for that type of beverage

Example

Theo brought a pack of low-alcohol beer to share at the family dinner.

low-alcohol beer

Aiko chose a bottle of low-alcohol wine because she had to drive home later.

low-alcohol wine

Common collocations
  • low-alcohol beer
  • low-alcohol wine
  • low-alcohol cider
  • low-alcohol drinks
  • low-alcohol lager
  • low-alcohol cocktail
Synonyms
  • light

    used especially for beer with fewer calories, sometimes also lower alcohol; 'light' focuses more on calorie content

  • alcohol-free

    means no alcohol at all, while 'low-alcohol' still contains a small amount

Antonyms
  • full-strength

    describes drinks with the standard, un-reduced alcohol level

  • alcoholic

    a general term for drinks containing alcohol, without specifying the level

Grammar Patterns

low-alcohol + noun (beer, wine, drink, cider, lager)

Usage Note

Almost always used before a noun — 'a low-alcohol beer', not 'the beer is low-alcohol' (the predicative form sounds unnatural).

Common Mistakes

This juice is low-alcohol.
This is a low-alcohol drink.
'low-alcohol' is rarely used alone as a predicate; it typically modifies a noun directly.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Low-alcohol, light, and alcohol-free all describe drinks with reduced intoxicating content, but they sit at different points on the scale. Alcohol-free (or non-alcoholic) means the drink contains no measurable alcohol — often labelled '0.0%'. Light (or lite) typically refers to beer with fewer calories; some light beers also have lower alcohol, but the emphasis is usually on calorie reduction, not alcohol. Low-alcohol sits in between: the drink still has a small percentage of alcohol (often 0.5%–3.5%), just less than the standard version. For example, a low-alcohol wine might have 6% alcohol by volume instead of the usual 12%, while alcohol-free wine removes it almost entirely.

low-alcohol ↗light ↗alcohol-free ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Etymology

ArabicMedieval LatinEnglish

Low-alcohol is a compound formed from the adjective 'low' (meaning 'small in amount') and the noun 'alcohol', brought together with a hyphen to describe beverages with reduced alcohol content. The term became common in the late 20th century as health-conscious drinking trends emerged.