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
Amanda Hancock, Louisville Courier Journal, 2 Oct. 2025
There are also instructions for plenty of creepy cocktails and even craft projects for constructing kooky table decor to match.
—Jillian Sederholm, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
The night kicks off with a cocktail, followed by a dinner and performance.
—Ryma Chikhoune, Footwear News, 1 Oct. 2025
The Conover Club, Callicoon Hills’s on-site restaurant, is a must for comfort food and a craft cocktail (or two); for lighter fare, start your day off at the Rise & Shine coffee house.
—Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 1 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cocktail
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Noun
Plus, Howl at the Moon will offer Swiftie sips, such as the Lucky One Miss Peaches Seltzer, Through the Orange Door jello shots, a TS12 shot, and That’s Showbiz cocktails and drink buckets.
—Amanda Hancock, Louisville Courier Journal, 2 Oct. 2025
There are also instructions for plenty of creepy cocktails and even craft projects for constructing kooky table decor to match.
—Jillian Sederholm, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
The night kicks off with a cocktail, followed by a dinner and performance.
—Ryma Chikhoune, Footwear News, 1 Oct. 2025
The Conover Club, Callicoon Hills’s on-site restaurant, is a must for comfort food and a craft cocktail (or two); for lighter fare, start your day off at the Rise & Shine coffee house.
—Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 1 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 6 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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