/ bruː; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
1.
to make beer :
[ vn ]
The beer is brewed in the Czech Republic.
[also v ]
2.
[ vn ] to make a hot drink of tea or coffee :
freshly brewed coffee
3.
[ v ] ( especially BrE ) ( of tea or coffee ) to be mixed with hot water and become ready to drink :
Always let tea brew for a few minutes.
4.
[ v ] brew (up) (usually used in the progressive tenses) if sth unpleasant is brewing or brewing up , it seems likely to happen soon
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- brew up | brew sth up
■ noun
1.
[ C , U ] a type of beer, especially one made in a particular place :
I thought I'd try the local brew.
home brew (= beer made at home)
2.
[ C , usually sing. ] ( BrE , informal ) an amount of tea made at one time :
I'll make a fresh brew.
Let's have a brew.
3.
[ C , usually sing. ] a mixture of different ideas, events, etc. :
The movie is a potent brew of adventure, sex and comedy.
His music is a heady brew (= a powerful mixture) of heavy metal and punk.
•
IDIOMS
- a witch's / an evil brew
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English brēowan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch brouwen and German brauen .