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
Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 June 2026
Choose low-sugar options such as dry wines, light beers and cocktails that use fresh juices rather than syrups.
—Teresa Mull, FOXNews.com, 6 June 2026
Both of those latter cocktails are pure brightness, while the vanilla from the aged rum and the spice from the bitters in the Old Cuban moves it from poolside to inside as if under a slowly twisting ceiling fan in a smoky room, long narrow beams of light through the wooden shutters.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 6 June 2026
Bartenders poured agave-centric cocktails from behind a long bar.
—Jenna Thompson
june 6, Kansas City Star, 6 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for cocktail
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Noun
The puzzle-like slats holding the barrel together, called staves, are often used in his creations, incorporated into cocktail muddlers and cigar rests, not to mention a recent life-size buffalo made from the spent barrel pieces.
—Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 June 2026
Choose low-sugar options such as dry wines, light beers and cocktails that use fresh juices rather than syrups.
—Teresa Mull, FOXNews.com, 6 June 2026
Both of those latter cocktails are pure brightness, while the vanilla from the aged rum and the spice from the bitters in the Old Cuban moves it from poolside to inside as if under a slowly twisting ceiling fan in a smoky room, long narrow beams of light through the wooden shutters.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 6 June 2026
Bartenders poured agave-centric cocktails from behind a long bar.
—Jenna Thompson
june 6, Kansas City Star, 6 June 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 7 Jun. 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
