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
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 Web
Aaron Leibowitz, Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2025
For dazzling views of the New York City skyline, small bites, and cocktails, head to the Gansevoort Rooftop Lounge.
—Jessica Vadillo, Travel + Leisure, 22 Mar. 2025
The store also includes a cocktail bar, restaurant and café named after Printemps’ founders Jules and Augustine Jaluzot.
—Melissa Repko, CNBC, 22 Mar. 2025
There’s a champagne bar, a cocktail bar, a raw bar and a cafe.
—Richard Kestenbaum, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cocktail
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Noun
Spring breakers happily sunbathed on the sand, sipped pink slushy cocktails at Señor Frog’s, flirted on the sidewalk and neglected to apply sunblock to their already pink shoulders.
—Aaron Leibowitz, Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2025
For dazzling views of the New York City skyline, small bites, and cocktails, head to the Gansevoort Rooftop Lounge.
—Jessica Vadillo, Travel + Leisure, 22 Mar. 2025
The store also includes a cocktail bar, restaurant and café named after Printemps’ founders Jules and Augustine Jaluzot.
—Melissa Repko, CNBC, 22 Mar. 2025
There’s a champagne bar, a cocktail bar, a raw bar and a cafe.
—Richard Kestenbaum, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cocktail
Articles Related to cocktail
Cite this Entry
“Cocktail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cocktail. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.
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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