Meaning & use
off-dry
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Meaning
adjectivenot comparable
Slightly sweet, especially of wine or cider, with just a little sugar left after fermentation.
Grammar: Describes a drink directly before a noun or after a linking verb: an off-dry wine, the wine is off-dry.
Patterns
- an off-dry wine
- the wine is off-dry
- off-dry style
This off-dry Riesling pairs well with spicy food.
The cider is off-dry, so it is not too sweet.
They ordered an off-dry white to go with the curry.
Common combinations
- off-dry wine
- An off-dry wine can balance a hot, spicy dish.
- off-dry style
- The winery is known for its off-dry style.
- slightly off-dry
- This sake is slightly off-dry and easy to drink.
- off-dry cider
- We bought a bottle of off-dry cider for the picnic.
Synonyms and how they differ
- medium-sweet
- Medium-sweet is a broader term for drinks with noticeable but not strong sweetness, while off-dry is a more precise wine term for a slight sweetness.
- semi-sweet
- Semi-sweet is common for chocolate and some drinks, but off-dry is the usual word for wine with a little residual sugar.
Opposites
Commonly confused: off-dry or dry?
off-dry vs dry
Dry means the opposite: a dry wine has almost no sweetness. Off-dry means slightly sweet.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'off-dry' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Off-dry' describes a drink that is slightly sweet, so 'a little sweet' fits. Option 0 is wrong because off-dry is not fully sweet, and option 2 is wrong because off-dry is not used for coffee with no sugar.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “off-dry”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.