vial

noun

vi·​al ˈvī(-ə)l How to pronounce vial (audio)
: a small closed or closable vessel especially for liquids

Examples of vial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The medication will come in single or double vial kits that can be used at home. Brenda Goodman, CNN, 26 Mar. 2024 The men dramatically toss the glass vials to the ground, clearly planning to kill them all, but NCIS got there first and swapped the virus with Swashbuckler Smokehouse chicken soup. Sara Netzley, EW.com, 25 Mar. 2024 Online purveyors who sell the drug directly to consumers in 200 mg/mL vials for an average price of $129 per month are charging the equivalent of $1.55 per mg — a markup of more than 50 times the average Medicare price. Michael Scaturro, CBS News, 16 Mar. 2024 Many stone and copper items, including the vial, were subsequently recovered by Iranian security forces. Katie Hunt, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024 Spokesperson Lindsey Dickinson said Exact Sciences was working with the shipping company to identify how the vial ended up in Anna Marie’s Shein shipment. Jody Serrano / Gizmodo, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024 The hope has been that Guardant would be able to achieve an elusive goal in colorectal cancer screening: catch incipient or early colorectal cancer using nothing more than two vials of blood. Angus Chen, STAT, 13 Mar. 2024 Get a travel version of your favorite scent Find a smaller vial of your go-to scent, or a refillable pump that the brand might sell. Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 5 Mar. 2024 There was no blood vial or can of beans at that time, according to Shein. Jody Serrano / Gizmodo, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fiole, viole, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin fiola, alteration of Latin phiala — more at phial

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of vial was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near vial

Cite this Entry

“Vial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vial. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

vial

noun
vi·​al ˈvī(-ə)l How to pronounce vial (audio)
: a small container (as for medicines) made usually of glass or plastic

Medical Definition

vial

noun
vi·​al ˈvī(-ə)l How to pronounce vial (audio)
: a small closed or closable vessel especially for liquids

called also phial

More from Merriam-Webster on vial

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