vial

noun

vi·​al ˈvī(-ə)l 

: a small closed or closable vessel especially for liquids

Examples of vial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Patryk struggles to sell his paintings, while Maria, who has a well-off background, created Tear Dealer, an art project that lets poor people trade their tears, collected in vials, for money. —Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 15 Jan. 2026

Injecting the drug in space wasn't easy, however, as microgravity turned the liquid in the vial into floating drops that had to be hunted down with the needle. —Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 14 Jan. 2026

Surrounded by villagers singing a local song and clad in traditional clothes, Kusimayu approaches the vial containing the virus, and inhales. —Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 30 Dec. 2025

Instead of sending vials of blood to a lab, these devices can report results in less than 30 minutes. —Noelle Harff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fiole, viole, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin fiola, alteration of Latin phiala — more at phial

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for vial

• dial
• rial
• thiol
• trial
• denial
• mistrial
• posttrial
• pretrial
• retrial
• sensorial
• supervisorial

Kids Definition

vial

noun

vi·​al ˈvī(-ə)l 

: a small container (as for medicines) made usually of glass or plastic

Medical Definition

vial

noun

vi·​al ˈvī(-ə)l 

: a small closed or closable vessel especially for liquids

called also phial