Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of various mixed alcoholic drinks consisting usually of brandy, whiskey, vodka, or gin combined with fruit juices or other liquors and often served chilled.
- n. Medicine A mixture of drugs, usually in solution, for the diagnosis or treatment of a condition.
- n. Medicine A treatment regimen that includes a combination of several drugs, so that their combined effect is more potent than that of any of the drugs used individually.
- n. An appetizer made by combining pieces of food, such as fruit or seafood: fruit cocktail; shrimp cocktail.
- adj. Of or relating to cocktails: a cocktail glass; a cocktail party.
- adj. Suitable for wear on semiformal occasions: a cocktail dress.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A bird of the genus Alectrurus.
- n. A name of a European insect, Ocypus or Goërius olens, one of the rove-beetles or Staphylinidæ. Also called devil's coach-horse (which see, under devil).
- n. A horse which is not thoroughbred, but has some impure blood, generally one fourth or less, but sometimes one half; hence, an underbred person.
- n. An American drink, strong, stimulating, and cold, made of spirits, bitters, and a little sugar, with various aromatic and stimulating additions.
- n. Cocktail beer.
Wiktionary
- n. A mixed alcoholic beverage containing several types of liquor
- n. A mixture of other substances.
- adj. festive, lively
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A beverage made of brandy, whisky, or gin, iced, flavored, and sweetened.
- n. A horse, not of pure breed, but having only one eighth or one sixteenth impure blood in his veins.
- n. A mean, half-hearted fellow; a coward.
- n. A species of rove beetle; -- so called from its habit of elevating the tail.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a short mixed drink
- n. an appetizer served as a first course at a meal
Etymologies
- Origin unknown.
Examples
“The word cocktail has spawned more mixological inventiveness than any other Global English term.”
“The oldest definition that anyone has found for the term "cocktail" describes a drink with exactly four ingredients: A spirit of course, water, bitters and sugar.”
“The first definition of the term cocktail appeared in a New York newspaper in the late 1800's.”
Minneapolis/St. Paul Breaking News, Weather, Video, Traffic and Sports for Minnesota from WCCO-TV
“Start at what I call the cocktail and hors d'oeuvres section, which is right past the cash registers.”
“To Jerry Shapiro, executive director, "Life and Style Weekly", you are reporting that Michael Jackson was taking what you call a cocktail of drugs.”
“This cocktail is my idea of a tasty retro drink, salty and spicy, just the way I like it.”
“Maybe then what we refer to as cocktail party banter, what we see as obvious and unchangable, would be more widely understood and appreciated.”
“For instance, we were in one of the maximum-security blocks here, where they explained that some of the prisoners throw what they call cocktail number fours on some of the guards, which contains urine, fecal matter, semen and spit.”
“Now, that's what I call a cocktail," said Officer Hogan, as he ordered up (on a complimentary basis) the Havanas.”
“These were dark days in cocktail history to be sure.”
The Huffington Post: Karl Kozel: It's Getting Better All The Time
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘cocktail’.
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Cocks, dicks, etc.
Also see End in -ock (this list syntax doesn't seem to work).
cockle, cockleshell, cock, spatchcock, cockeye, cockeyed, cocklemaney, cockerel, cockcrow, kok, cock-a-bondy, cock-and-bull and 89 more...
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Origin unknown
bamboozle, ballyhoo, banter, bludgeon, chad, cocktail, culvert, curmugeon, dildo, dude, dweeb, dyke and 51 more...
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Words that are also movies
Unabashedly stolen from a comment made by courier12.
vertigo, serendipity, casablanca, psycho, jaws, fantasia, stagecoach, network, rocky, giant, platoon, unforgiven and 285 more...

oroboros Origin first attested 1806; H.L. Mencken lists seven versions of its origin, perhaps the most persuasive is Fr. coquetier "egg-cup." In New Orleans, c.1795, Antoine Amédée Peychaud, an apothecary (and inventor of Peychaud bitters) held Masonic social gatherings at his pharmacy, where he mixed brandy toddies with his own bitters and served them in an egg-cup. The drink took the name of the cup, in Eng. cocktay. Cocktail party first attested 1928. Dec 31, 2007