Meaning & use
a drinking problem
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
A habit of drinking alcohol too much and being unable to stop or control it.
Grammar: Used as a countable noun phrase, so it takes a/an and can be plural: have a drinking problem, have drinking problems.
Patterns
- have a drinking problem
- develop a drinking problem
- a serious drinking problem
His family finally admitted he had a drinking problem and helped him find treatment.
She hid her drinking problem from her colleagues for years.
The doctor asked gently whether he thought he might have a drinking problem.
phrasefixed phrasehumorousinformal
Used lightly or jokingly about someone who simply likes alcohol a lot.
Grammar: Often said with a laugh about a friend who orders a lot of drinks; the joking tone comes from the situation, not from the words.
Patterns
- I think I have a drinking problem
- you might have a drinking problem
Three coffees and two beers before noon? I think you have a drinking problem, mate.
He jokes that his real drinking problem is that he keeps buying wine he never opens.
Common combinations
- have a drinking problem
- Nobody at work knew that she had a drinking problem.
- a serious drinking problem
- A serious drinking problem can damage the liver and the heart.
- a drinking problem develops
- A drinking problem often develops slowly over several years.
- get help for a drinking problem
- He got help for a drinking problem at a free clinic.
- deny a drinking problem
- Many people deny a drinking problem until something goes badly wrong.
Synonyms and how they differ
- alcoholism
- A medical-sounding noun for the illness itself; 'a drinking problem' is softer and vaguer and is what people usually say in ordinary conversation.
- alcohol abuse
- A more clinical term used in reports and health writing; it sounds official, while 'a drinking problem' sounds personal and everyday.
- problem drinking
- Very close in meaning and used in health writing, but it works as an uncountable phrase ('problem drinking among students') and rarely takes 'a'.
Word family
Commonly confused: a drinking problem or drinking water?
a drinking problem vs drinking water
'Drinking water' is clean water that is safe to drink; 'a drinking problem' is about alcohol, so the two phrases mean completely different things.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
'A drinking problem' is a countable phrase and needs 'a' when it refers to one person's condition, so option 1 is correct. Option 2 omits the article; options 3 and 4 break the phrase with 'of' and wrong word order.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a drinking problem”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.