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
Lilit Marcus, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
This hutch can wear many hats—coffee bar, cocktail corner, matcha station.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 8 Oct. 2025
Featuring a faux wrap neckline and a deep V-neck design, the sweater is sophisticated and polished enough for date nights, after-work cocktails, parties, and more.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 8 Oct. 2025
My Sleep and Stress Didn’t Improve Speaking of which, the cortisol cocktail didn’t seem to do me any major favors in that department, either.
—Jani Hall, Health, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cocktail
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Noun
The world’s best bars list was announced at a splashy, cocktail-attire-please event in Hong Kong, where the hometown crowd seemed firmly on Bar Leone’s cheering squad.
—Lilit Marcus, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2025
This hutch can wear many hats—coffee bar, cocktail corner, matcha station.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 8 Oct. 2025
Featuring a faux wrap neckline and a deep V-neck design, the sweater is sophisticated and polished enough for date nights, after-work cocktails, parties, and more.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 8 Oct. 2025
My Sleep and Stress Didn’t Improve Speaking of which, the cortisol cocktail didn’t seem to do me any major favors in that department, either.
—Jani Hall, Health, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cocktail
Cite this Entry
“Cocktail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cocktail. Accessed 10 Oct. 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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