cuver

Senses

1. 1.

   to sleep off (drunkenness)

   to recover from intoxication by sleeping or resting

2. 2.

   to ferment (in a vat)

   to undergo fermentation in a wine vat or barrel

Examples

• "Il a trop bu hier soir et il cuve son vin ce matin."

  He drank too much last night and he's sleeping off his wine this morning.

• "Le raisin cuve dans les cuves de fermentation pendant deux semaines."

  The grape must ferments in the fermentation vats for two weeks.

• "Laisse-le cuver à la maison avant de le déranger."

  Let him sleep it off at home before bothering him.

Usage

Cuver most commonly means "to sleep off" drunkenness (cuver son vin literally = to sleep off one's wine). In winemaking, it refers to fermentation in a vat. Informal and colloquial in its primary sense.