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
Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2025
Cannabis cocktails have changed my life.
—Chala June, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 Oct. 2025
This cocktail of ingredients balances each other out seamlessly, and even shoppers can confirm.
—Katie Decker-Jacoby, StyleCaster, 29 Oct. 2025
Taylor River Lodge’s eight acres provide plenty of space for an immersive experience in nature, while the central building is where large groups can cozy up around the grand stone hearth or have a cocktail at the horseshoe bar.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 29 Oct. 2025
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Noun
During the cocktails, the Costume Institute’s curator in charge Andrew Bolton chatted about how the Friends of the Costume Institute has developed, since starting out as a core group of five or so in 2002.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2025
Cannabis cocktails have changed my life.
—Chala June, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 Oct. 2025
This cocktail of ingredients balances each other out seamlessly, and even shoppers can confirm.
—Katie Decker-Jacoby, StyleCaster, 29 Oct. 2025
Taylor River Lodge’s eight acres provide plenty of space for an immersive experience in nature, while the central building is where large groups can cozy up around the grand stone hearth or have a cocktail at the horseshoe bar.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 29 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 31 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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