cocktail
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A mixture of other substances or things.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kahktaylSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɑkteɪl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
by extension
A mixture of other substances or things.
A mixed alcoholic beverage.
A horse, not of pure breed, but having only one eighth or one sixteenth impure blood in its veins.
verb
transitive
To adulterate (fuel, etc.) by mixing in other substances.
transitive
To treat (a person) to cocktails.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A mixture of other substances or things.
Used this way, cocktail is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use cocktail
- “He ordered a refreshing fruit cocktail at the restaurant bar.”
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.