sherry

noun

sher·​ry ˈsher-ē How to pronounce sherry (audio)
plural sherries
: a Spanish fortified wine with a distinctive nutty flavor
also : a similar wine produced elsewhere

Examples of sherry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Balvenie Eighty-Eight-Year-Old was distilled on March 5, 1931, and spent its entire maturation lifespan in a European oak sherry butt from Jerez, Spain (cask #239). — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 1 Sep. 2026 Meanwhile, in small saucepan combine cider, maple syrup, Creole mustard, miso, soy sauce and sherry. — ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026 The distillery describes the profile as featuring notes of dark chocolate, nuts, and berries, with a subtle sweetness thanks to the sherry casks. — Melinda Salchert, Southern Living, 26 Aug. 2026 Today’s recipe Former cooking editor Genevieve Ko uses sherry to round out the flavors of this classic Spanish dish. — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sherry

Word History

Etymology

alteration of earlier sherris (taken as plural), from Xeres (now Jerez), Spain

First Known Use

1584, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sherry was in 1584

Rhymes for sherry

See All Rhymes for sherry

Browse Nearby Words

sherris-sack
sherry
sherryvallies
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Cite this Entry

“Sherry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sherry. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Kids Definition

sherry

noun
sher·​ry ˈsher-ē How to pronounce sherry (audio)
plural sherries
: a wine with a nutty flavor
Etymology

named for Xeres (now spelled Jerez), a city in Spain where the wine was originally made

Word Origin
It is common to name wines after the part of a country where they are made. The wine called sherry today was first made in a town originally called, in Spanish, Xeres. The English approximation of the Spanish pronunciation was \ˈsher-ēz\, spelled sherris. After a time, people thought that sherris was a plural and so made a singular form, sherry, by cutting off the supposed plural ending. The \sh\ sound symbolized by x in Spanish (later by j) changed to a \ḵ\ or \h\, so that the modern Spanish pronunciation of Jerez is even less like English sherry.

More from Merriam-Webster on sherry

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about sherry

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