noun
cola
KOH-luh
noun
1
A sweet, dark, fizzy soft drink originally flavored with kola nut extract and caramel.
"She ordered a burger and a cola."
"The bar was out of cola, so he had lemonade instead."
2
The kola nut itself, or the tropical tree it comes from.
"Cola nuts were traditionally chewed for their stimulant effect."
3
Cannabis slang: a dense cluster of flower buds on a cannabis plant.
"The main cola on the plant had grown thick and heavy."
How to Use Cola
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishMost people just mean the fizzy brown soft drink — think Coke or Pepsi.
Common pairings
a can of cola
diet cola
cola nut
Word Forms
colas plural, colas plural
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Etymology
From a West African language (compare Temne and Mandinka kola). The drink Coca-Cola made the word famous worldwide and popularized spelling it with a "c" instead of a "k".