Molotov cocktail

noun

Mo·​lo·​tov cocktail ˈmä-lə-ˌtȯf- 

ˈmȯ-, 

ˈmō-, 

-ˌtȯv-

: a crude bomb made of a bottle filled with a flammable liquid (such as gasoline) and usually fitted with a wick (such as a saturated rag) that is ignited just before the bottle is hurled

Examples of Molotov cocktail in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

During the gathering, a man attacked participants by throwing Molotov cocktails into the crowd. — Sarah Horbacewicz, CBS News, 1 June 2026

Think back to April, when a man threw a Molotov cocktail at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman‘s North Beach home in San Francisco, setting fire to an exterior gate. — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 24 May 2026

Polish officials said migrants have used Molotov cocktails in at least two incidents, sparking fires near the border. — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 17 May 2026

The latest attack to make the headlines was the arrest of a 20-year-old man for throwing a Molotov cocktail at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s home in San Francisco, and then threatening to burn down OpenAI headquarters. — Ben Bayer, Oc Register, 10 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Vyacheslav M. Molotov

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Molotov cocktail

• abigail
• cottontail
• countervail
• fingernail
• martingale
• mesoscale
• microscale
• monorail
• nanoscale
• ponytail
• swallowtail
• wensleydale