vial

[vahy-uhl, vahyl]

noun

1. Also a small container, as of glass, for holding liquids.

   a vial of rare perfume; a vial of medicine.

verb (used with object)

vialed, vialing , vialled, vialling .

1. to put into or keep in a vial.

vial

/ ˈvaɪəl, vaɪl /

noun

1. a less common variant of phial

Word History and Origins

Origin of vial¹

1300–50; Middle English viole, variant of fiole phial

Word History and Origins

Origin of vial¹

C14: fiole, from Old French, from Old Provençal fiola, from Latin phiala, from Greek phialē; see _phial

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. pour out vials of wrath, to wreak vengeance or express anger.

   In her preface she pours out vials of wrath on her detractors.

Example Sentences

"With this drill I carefully remove small amounts of powder. I store that powder in a plastic vial and transport it back to our lab at the University of Michigan for isotopic analysis."

Read more on Science Daily

It shoots lasers at atoms of rubidium, a soft, silvery-white metal, that are held in a gaseous form in a small glass vial.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

They had one vial of sperm left from their donor.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He then explained how beauticians could use a genuine patient's prescription to order extra vials and keep the spare doses for other paying clients.

Read more on BBC

We opened the unlabelled white envelope and found needles, mixing agents and a vial of unlabelled white powder.

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Related Words

• bottle 
• flask