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
Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 13 Aug. 2025
The event includes cocktails, a silent auction and dinner.
—Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
Total alcohol sales of beer, wine, spirits, seltzers and ready-to-drink cocktails fell in 2024 for the first time in three years, according to data firm NIQ, but barely—sales dipped less than 1%, from $113.6 billion to $112.9 billion.
—Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Above, the flybridge measures an even more impressive 660 square feet, and is divided into a rear social area with loose furniture (it can be cleared to make a dance floor), a mid-deck cocktail bar with stools and a retractable television beside a central lounge.
—Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cocktail
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Noun
Those in search of cocktails, music and vibes reminiscent of decades past can soon find them at a new bar opening soon in uptown Charlotte.
—Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 13 Aug. 2025
The event includes cocktails, a silent auction and dinner.
—Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
Total alcohol sales of beer, wine, spirits, seltzers and ready-to-drink cocktails fell in 2024 for the first time in three years, according to data firm NIQ, but barely—sales dipped less than 1%, from $113.6 billion to $112.9 billion.
—Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Above, the flybridge measures an even more impressive 660 square feet, and is divided into a rear social area with loose furniture (it can be cleared to make a dance floor), a mid-deck cocktail bar with stools and a retractable television beside a central lounge.
—Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 13 Aug. 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 21 Aug. 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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