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a distilled or spirituous beverage, as brandy or whiskey, as distinguished from a fermented beverage, as wine or beer.
any liquid substance, as broth from cooked meats or vegetables.
Pharmacology, (def 6).
a of a substance, especially a concentrated one used in the industrial arts.
Informal. to furnish or ply with liquor to drink (often followed by up).
Informal. to drink large quantities of liquor (often followed by up).
Contemporary Examples

He was an alleged extortion victim of Bulger, who had engaged in a hostile takeover of a liquor store that Rakes once owned.
The Hidden Horror of Whitey Bulger’s Trial T.J. English July 21, 2013

The possibilities seem endless: Who needs a trip to the liquor store when the toddler can turn water into wine, amirite?
Was Baby Jesus A Holy Terror? Candida Moss December 20, 2014

He turned it down at first and agreed to do it only because the producer sent him a case of liquor and some flowers.
The Stacks: Mr. Bad Taste and Trouble Himself: Robert Mitchum Robert Ward July 18, 2014

The cafés, taverns, laundries, shoe-repair shops and liquor stores are all closed.
Stanley Booth on the Life and Hard Times of Blues Genius Furry Lewis Stanley Booth June 6, 2014

The liquor conglomerate also produces the single malts Talisker and Oban.
Don’t Be a Single-Malt Scotch Snob Kayleigh Kulp August 8, 2014

Historical Examples

Alabama forbids the sale of liquor for everything but the communion.
Alcohol: A Dangerous and Unnecessary Medicine, How and Why Martha M. Allen

He had been drinking, and the warmth of the liquor was in his voice.
K Mary Roberts Rinehart

Suffer them to stand together one hour, then decant the liquor.
Mrs. Hale’s Receipts for the Million Sarah Josepha Hale

Also, for the most part, they were just then more or less in liquor.
Fair Margaret H. Rider Haggard

Send the liquor you intend for me to my hospital in the rear.
Our Standard-Bearer Oliver Optic

noun
any alcoholic drink, esp spirits, or such drinks collectively
any liquid substance, esp that in which food has been cooked
(pharmacol) a solution of a pure substance in water
(brewing) warm water added to malt to form wort
in liquor, drunk; intoxicated
verb
(brewing) to steep (malt) in warm water to form wort; mash
n.

c.1200, likur “any matter in a liquid state,” from Old French licor “fluid, liquid; sap; oil” (Modern French liqueur), from Latin liquorem (nominative liquor) “liquidity, fluidity,” also “a liquid, the sea,” from liquere “be fluid, liquid” (see liquid (adj.)). Narrowed sense of “fermented or distilled drink” (especially wine) first recorded c.1300. To liquor up “get drunk” is from 1845. The form in English has been assimilated to Latin, but the pronunciation has not changed.

liquor liq·uor (lĭk’ər)
n.

An aqueous solution, especially of a medicinal substance.

An alcoholic beverage made by distillation rather than by fermentation.

(lī’kwôr, lĭk’wôr) In anatomical nomenclature, a term for any of several body fluids.

Related Terms

hard liquor, pot liquor