abv

A1B3V4

A form of alcohol by volume — A standard measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage, usually defined as the number of millilitres of pure ethanol present in 100 millilitres of solution at 20 °C (68 °F).

Less commonScrabble 8

Meanings

abv1

nounabv (countable and uncountable, plural abvs)

plural abvs

  1. countableuncountableAlternative letter-case form of ABV (“alcohol by volume”).
    1 more example

    This tells me that wine lovers are still entranced by French wine, so here are three to be getting on with: Cuvée Fleur Rosé 2008 Vin de Pays de L'Herault (£3.89, Waitrose; 12% abv) is a rustic rosé with bite, freshness and character, more charming than many a more expensive bottle, and one I'd swig from a Duralex tumbler.

    2009 September 5, Victoria Moore, “French wine: there's plenty of life in the old dog yet”, in The Guardian

ABV2

nounABV (countable and uncountable, plural ABVs)

plural ABVs

  1. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountableInitialism of alcohol by volume.

    At only 2% ABV, this brand of beer won't get you drunk cheaply.

    4 more examples

    Divide in half to relate proof to ABV: whiskey that is 80 proof is 40% ABV.

    On a tour of the cavernous and gleaming BrewDog plant in Ellon, just north of Aberdeen, Dickie happily batted around terminology – IBU, ABV, pH, haze, present gravity, headspace oxygen – with PhD-level microbiologists working in the lab.

    2016 March 24, Jon Henley, “The aggressive, outrageous, infuriating (and ingenious) rise of BrewDog”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

    U.S. law considers alcohol proof to be twice the ABV percentage.

    2021 June 7, “Understanding Alcohol Proof: How Is Alcohol Proof Measured?”, in MasterClass

    If you’re choosing between two beers of the same size, for instance, and one is 4 percent A.B.V. and the other is 8 percent, the 4 percent beer will expose you to half as much ethanol. […] Some strong beers, for instance, have A.B.V.s that are higher than some wines (or even some liquors, on the extreme end).

    2025 May 20, Caroline Hopkins Legaspi, “Is There a Least Bad Alcohol?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 20 May 2025
  2. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountableInitialism of American-born Vietnamese.

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

abv. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/abv

MLA

“abv.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/abv. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “abv,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/abv.

Source: abv on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.