A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a class of drink containing no alcohol, usually (but not necessarily) carbonated, and typically including added sweetener. Flavors can be natural, artificial or a mixture of the two. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a sugar substitute (in the case of diet sodas), or some combination of these. Soft drinks may also contain caffeine, colorings, preservatives and other ingredients. Coffee, tea, milk, cocoa, and unaltered fruit and vegetable juices are not considered soft drinks.
Soft drinks are called "soft" in contrast with "hard" alcoholic drinks and their counterparts: non-alcoholic drinks. Small amounts of alcohol may be present in a soft drink, but the alcohol content must be less than 0.5% of the total volume of the drink (ABV) in many countries and localities if the drink is to not be considered alcoholic. Examples of soft drinks include lemon-lime drinks, orange soda, cola, grape soda, cream soda, ginger ale and root beer.