drinks

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of drink.

   The waiter brought our drinks before the appetizers arrived.

   Several drinks on the menu were far too expensive.

   Note

   The ordinary plural, used whenever beverages can be counted: two drinks, a round of drinks, drinks before dinner. It often means alcoholic ones served to a group, as when colleagues go out for drinks. The mass senses stay singular (food and drink, he took to drink), so the plural is never a word for liquor in general. Cricket reuses the same spelling for the break in play.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of drink.

   He drinks his coffee black with no sugar.

   The engine drinks fuel at an alarming rate on long climbs.

   Note

   Spelled exactly like the plural noun, so the subject decides which is meant. With an object it can be literal (she drinks tea) or figurative, as when an engine drinks fuel or dry soil drinks rain. Without an object it narrows: "he drinks" on its own is understood to mean he drinks alcohol.

3. 3
   nounplural

   A short break in play that lets players have a drink, with time for quick repairs to equipment or the pitch.

   Australia were two wickets down at drinks on the opening day.

   The captain held back his decision until after drinks.

   Note

   Cricket's name for the pause is always plural and usually takes no article: a side is two down at drinks, or a captain waits until after drinks. Used this way it works as a fixed point in the day's play, a moment against which scores and decisions are reported. A single drink is only a beverage. The plural without "the" is what signals the break.

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