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
Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 14 June 2025
Come for the Lilibeth cocktail — a fresh, floral blend of gin, elderflower, and citrus — served over a giant floating ice cube shaped like a diamond as a playful nod to the crown jewels locked away at the Tower of London, visible from here.
—Rooksana Hossenally, Forbes.com, 14 June 2025
At a makeshift bar shaded by a sycamore tree, one of the guides was mixing cocktails that contained pisco and ginger.
—David Amsden, Travel + Leisure, 13 June 2025
Ryden has also developed a variety of creamy dessert cocktails that have been veganized with dairy-free alternatives.
—Candice Woo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for cocktail
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Noun
The Red Raider cocktail is bourbon, lemon, pomegranate, and orange liqueur, and comes to us from an old printing of the Mr. Boston Official Bartender’s Guide, where it’s reportedly been since at least 1974.
—Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 14 June 2025
Come for the Lilibeth cocktail — a fresh, floral blend of gin, elderflower, and citrus — served over a giant floating ice cube shaped like a diamond as a playful nod to the crown jewels locked away at the Tower of London, visible from here.
—Rooksana Hossenally, Forbes.com, 14 June 2025
At a makeshift bar shaded by a sycamore tree, one of the guides was mixing cocktails that contained pisco and ginger.
—David Amsden, Travel + Leisure, 13 June 2025
Ryden has also developed a variety of creamy dessert cocktails that have been veganized with dairy-free alternatives.
—Candice Woo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 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 17 Jun. 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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