People drink. Sometimes they drink too much. English has a surprising number of ways to describe how drunk someone is, and the word you choose depends on the situation and who you're talking to.

Starting the night

When you're raising a glass with friends, you can say "Bottoms up!" before everyone drinks. It's a toast, basically another way of saying "Cheers!" It signals that everyone should drink at the same time. Save it for casual nights out, not formal settings.

A woman with a ponytail drinks from a can with green and red branding.

Once the drinking's underway, "tipsy" and "buzzed" describe the early stages. You've had a drink or two, you feel a little loose, but you're still in control. The two words are almost interchangeable.

I was tipsy after two glasses of wine.
I'm buzzed, but I can still drive.

Getting drunk

"Wasted" means you've had too much. You're past tipsy. You might stumble, say things you shouldn't, or forget parts of the night later.

I got so wasted last night. I barely remember leaving the bar.

This is casual slang, the kind you'd use with friends, not with your boss. Once you're past "wasted," English has a whole pile of near-synonyms that all mean roughly the same thing: extremely drunk. "Sloshed," "smashed," "hammered," and "plastered" all fit here, along with "blind drunk" for someone so far gone they can barely see straight.

I got hammered at the wedding.
She was completely smashed by midnight.

A person falls over his chair in a bar

There's a rougher end of this stage too, where the humor drops off. When someone's so drunk they can't speak clearly or make sense, they're "tanked" or "loaded." Their words slur together, they repeat themselves, they might not even recognize people they know.

Ignore him, he's loaded.
Don't listen to her, she's tanked.

The formal way to say it

"Intoxicated" is the word police and bartenders use. It means the same thing as "drunk," but it sounds official, the kind of word you'd hear when someone's about to be cut off or told they can't drive.

You're too intoxicated to drive. I'm calling you a cab.

You wouldn't say "I'm intoxicated" at a party unless you're being sarcastic. "Inebriated" does similar work in professional or legal contexts, but with a slightly softer, more polite edge.

Peggy got a little inebriated at the office party.

The morning after

A hangover is what happens when you drink too much and wake up feeling terrible. Headache, nausea, regret. All of it.

I'm so hungover today.
I have the worst hangover. I'm never drinking again.

A man in a light blue shirt walks unsteadily on a beach at dusk.

Staying safe

In most US cities, you can't walk around with an open bottle of alcohol on the street. If a cop sees you, they'll give you a ticket or possibly arrest you.

Driving drunk is worse. If you get caught, you'll be charged with a DUI (driving under the influence) or DWI (driving while intoxicated). Both are serious crimes. You'll lose your license, pay massive fines, and possibly go to jail.

That's why people talk about having a designated driver, the person in the group who stays sober and drives everyone else home safely. If you don't have one, call a cab or use a rideshare app.

The vocabulary exists because drinking culture is widespread, but that doesn't mean getting drunk is consequence-free. People lose jobs, relationships, and lives over alcohol. If you're going to drink, know your limits, pay attention to how you feel, and if you're past "tipsy" and heading toward "wasted," maybe it's time to switch to water.

Talking about drinking in English