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
Nathanael Gassett, Bon Appetit Magazine, 30 Apr. 2026
Other Mansion privileges include a private betting parlor, a free-flowing cocktail bar where New York mixologists line up classic mint juleps (over 125,000 are served during the weekend), and a library for confidential high-stake discussions.
—Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 30 Apr. 2026
There will also be special craft cocktails including Mommas Day Off Martini ($14), Peach or Mango Mom-Mosa ($12), Butterfly Effect Elixir ($10) and Farmers French 75 ($14).
—Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2026
To keep her family at bay, Alexandra barricades herself in her Brooklyn brownstone with enough Molotov cocktails to blow up the whole block.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cocktail
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Noun
Come for the nightly DJs, come for the succinct menu of highball cocktails, or just come for the Japanese soft serve ice cream.
—Nathanael Gassett, Bon Appetit Magazine, 30 Apr. 2026
Other Mansion privileges include a private betting parlor, a free-flowing cocktail bar where New York mixologists line up classic mint juleps (over 125,000 are served during the weekend), and a library for confidential high-stake discussions.
—Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 30 Apr. 2026
There will also be special craft cocktails including Mommas Day Off Martini ($14), Peach or Mango Mom-Mosa ($12), Butterfly Effect Elixir ($10) and Farmers French 75 ($14).
—Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2026
To keep her family at bay, Alexandra barricades herself in her Brooklyn brownstone with enough Molotov cocktails to blow up the whole block.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cocktail
Cite this Entry
“Cocktail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cocktail. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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
