pint
/pʌɪnt
/(abbreviation pt)
noun
1A unit of liquid or dry capacity equal to one eighth of a gallon, in Britain equal to 0.568 litre and in the US equal to 0.473 litre (for liquid measure) or 0.551 litre (for dry measure).I still talk about acres, yards, feet and inches; not forgetting gallons and pints and also hundredweights pounds and ounces....
- The liter and its fractions have vanquished quarts, pints, and gallons, while the pound is still holding its own in things such as produce.
- The milk is available in gallons, half gallons, quarts and pints.
1.1British informal A pint of beer: we’ll probably go for a pint on the way home...
- Beer drinkers in York today raised a glass to the city's publicans, after it emerged they were getting some of the best-value pints in Britain.
- Protestations that ‘we've only had four’ rang hollow as we remembered each Stein equals a couple of pints.
- As afternoon faded into evening, the flow of pints became a gentle flood, noses reddened and smiles stretched closer to each ear.
1.2British A pint of milk: two pints today, please
1.3British A measure of shellfish, the amount containable in a pint mug.Shrimp were first choice, priced by the pint or quart here and by the dozen there, but I threw pilchards or finger mullet when time and tide were right....
- In Texas, shrimp on the hoof are sold in pints and quarts.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French pinte, of unknown origin.