1
a
: a usually iced drink of wine or distilled liquor mixed with flavoring ingredients
b
: something resembling or suggesting such a drink as being a mixture of often diverse elements or ingredients
a cocktail of remembered incidents and pure imagination—
Charlotte Low
Charlotte Lowa cocktail of herbicides
c
: a mixture of agents usually in solution that is taken or used especially for medical treatment or diagnosis
2
: an appetizer served as a first course at a meal
1
: of, relating to, or set aside for cocktails
a cocktail hour
2
: designed for semiformal wear
a cocktail dress
: a horse with its tail docked
Synonyms
Examples of cocktail in a Sentence
Noun (1)
an autopsy found a lethal cocktail of banned substances in the actor's body
Recent Examples on the WebConnie Ogle, Miami Herald, 10 July 2024
Shopping, sit with an espresso and people watch, go get cocktails, food, take a cooking class.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 10 July 2024
At the end of a day exploring, indulge in a cocktail in the moody, elegant 1826 Tequila Bar or drink in the sweeping views of San Miguel's rooftops from Luna Rooftop.
—Meagan Drillinger, Travel + Leisure, 9 July 2024
The rim isn’t as wide as a martini glass, but the bowl allows the cocktail to become more aromatic thanks to the surface area, which makes your cocktail taste better, Sweeney explains.
—Tiffany Hopkins, Bon Appétit, 9 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for cocktail 
Noun
The Let That Man-Go could be the perfect antidote to this summer’s tragic mango season: The cocktail is made with Centinela reposada tequila, fresh mango, ginger falernum, lime juice and agave nectar.
—Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 10 July 2024
Shopping, sit with an espresso and people watch, go get cocktails, food, take a cooking class.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 10 July 2024
At the end of a day exploring, indulge in a cocktail in the moody, elegant 1826 Tequila Bar or drink in the sweeping views of San Miguel's rooftops from Luna Rooftop.
—Meagan Drillinger, Travel + Leisure, 9 July 2024
The rim isn’t as wide as a martini glass, but the bowl allows the cocktail to become more aromatic thanks to the surface area, which makes your cocktail taste better, Sweeney explains.
—Tiffany Hopkins, Bon Appétit, 9 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for cocktail
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cocktail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Cocktail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cocktail. Accessed 24 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
cocktail
noun
cock·tail
ˈkäk-ˌtāl 
: a mixture of agents usually in solution that is taken or used especially for medical treatment or diagnosis
a potent cocktail of antiretroviral drugs—Zia Jaffrey
Zia Jaffreychemotherapy cocktails to treat cancer—J. L. Swerdlow
J. L. SwerdlowLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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