cocktail party

American  

noun

1. a social gathering, often held during the cocktail hour, at which cocktails and other alcoholic beverages, hors d'oeuvres, and canapés are served.

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Etymology

Origin of cocktail party

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cocktail party

And as MAGAdom rounded into shape, and I started telling my girlfriend about Milo Yiannopoulos, she said, “Rather than talking about this guy at a cocktail party, you should be writing a newsletter about it.”

From Slate ● May 7, 2026

Long-running production “The Willows” is set to wrap in early April, and “Monster Party,” a period piece that takes guests to a devilishly extravagant cocktail party, is re-launching in mid-April.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026

These five WSJ readers shared how they found ways back into the workforce, from crashing a cocktail party to working part-time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026

He said the most recent time they ran into each other was more than 10 years ago, at a cocktail party.

From Slate ● Dec. 23, 2025

Just whose side he was on is unclear; at a cocktail party, he gave a congressman sensitive information on Japanese aircraft manufacturing.

From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand