I. so ‧ ber 1 /ˈsəʊbə $ ˈsoʊbər/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: sobre , from Latin sobrius ]
1 . not drunk:
He’s a nice guy when he’s sober.
2 . serious, and thinking or making you think carefully about things:
a sober hard-working young man
a sober reminder of the difficulties we face
3 . plain and not at all brightly coloured:
a sober grey suit
—soberly adverb
II. sober 2 BrE AmE ( also sober down ) verb [intransitive and transitive]
to become more serious in behaviour or attitude, or to make someone become more serious:
His expression sobered instantly.
sober up phrasal verb
to gradually become less drunk, or to make someone become less drunk:
I had sobered up by now and felt terrible.
sober somebody ↔ up
Some coffee should sober you up.