cocktail sauce

noun

: a somewhat spicy sauce that consists typically of ketchup or tomato-based chili sauce mixed with horseradish and often lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot-pepper sauce and that is served especially as a condiment for cold seafood (such as shrimp or oysters)

Examples of cocktail sauce in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Someone opened it and removed the cocktail sauce and left the shrimp! Ticked Off, Orlando Sentinel, 22 July 2024 Slice of Garlic Seafood Alfredo Pizza (garlic Alfredo base with surimi, motz and provolone cheese topped with splash of Old Bay seasoning, a swirl of cocktail sauce): $8. CCS Empanadas: Chicken Empanada: $6. Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 23 May 2024 Wasabi is also sometimes substituted for horseradish to make cocktail sauce extra spicy. Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024 Oysters are prepared seven different ways, from raw with baja mignonette, yuzu green peppercorn sauce, or cocktail sauce and lemon to jerk-style, with a Caribbean-spiced jam. Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2024 The shrimp had a nice snap to it and served as an excellent vessel for the piquant, faintly sweet cocktail sauce. The Indianapolis Star, 19 Jan. 2024 Something to savor Start off with the Oysters West Coast and East Coast, served with red wine vinegar mignonette and lemon cocktail sauce, and the lavraki, served with horta and ladolemono sauce. Amanda Mesa, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024 This is worth more than a passing notice and not only for those of us who enjoy our occasional plate of oysters on the half-shell or perhaps dipped in flour and corn meal, fried and served with a nice cocktail sauce. Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 17 Jan. 2024 The cocktail ceviche, priced at $11.99, features shrimp, tomato, red onions, jalapeño, cilantro, cucumbers, avocado, and cocktail sauce. Dana McMahan, The Courier-Journal, 2 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cocktail sauce was in 1902

Dictionary Entries Near cocktail sauce

Cite this Entry

“Cocktail sauce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cocktail%20sauce. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!