Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

molotov cocktail

/ˈmɔ.ləˌtɔv ˈkɑk.teɪl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.97 in modern English

Syllables: molo-tov -cock-tail
IPA: /ˈmɔ.ləˌtɔv ˈkɑk.teɪl/

28

Scrabble Score

15

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A crude incendiary bomb made from a glass bottle, either filled with a flammable liquid such as petroleum and supplied with a rag for a fuse that is lit just before being hurled, or filled with such a mix of flammable liquids that it ignites itself when it is smashed and its contents are exposed to air.

noun

Alternative letter-case form of Molotov cocktail.

Example Sentences

"The site, which appears in the wake of anti-Elon Musk protests across the country, displays names, addresses, and phone numbers of Tesla owners on an interactive map and uses an image of a Molotov cocktail as its cursor. […] In one incident in Las Vegas, an individual dressed in black used Molotov cocktails to ignite five Tesla vehicles at a service center."
"The post included a picture of a man holding a flaming molotov cocktail, his face painted with the St George flag, emblazoned with the words: “Fcuk Ulez. People must now stand together. If Khan gets in the PURGE must begin with NO REGRETS.”"
"FBI Director Kash Patel’s home is also listed on the map, which uses a molotov cocktail as its cursor. […] On Tuesday, a masked man used molotov cocktails to firebomb a Tesla dealership in Las Vegas before firing rounds into the burning vehicles."

Etymology

Calque of Finnish Molotovin koktaili. Coined in Finland during the Winter War of 1939–40 between Finland and the Soviet Union, and named after then-Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986), who claimed the bombs the Soviet Union dropped on Finland were airborne humanitarian food deliveries prompting Finns to say their firebombs were Molotov cocktails (drinks to go with his food deliveries).

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈmɔ.ləˌtɔv ˈkɑk.teɪl/
British English: /ˈmɒ.ləˌtɒf ˈkɒk.teɪl/

Inflected Forms

Molotov cocktails (plural) Molotoff cocktail (alternative) Molotov's cocktail (alternative)

Phrases

Molotov breadbasket

Frequently Paired Words

Molotov breadbasket

Synonyms

mollie petrol bomb Bandera smoothie Molotov gasoline bomb

Questions

How do you pronounce molotov cocktail?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈmɔ.ləˌtɔv ˈkɑk.teɪl/.
What does molotov cocktail mean?: A crude incendiary bomb made from a glass bottle, either filled with a flammable liquid such as petroleum and supplied with a rag for a fuse that is lit just before being hurled, or filled with such a mix of flammable liquids that it ignites itself when it is smashed and its contents are exposed to air.
Where does molotov cocktail come from?: Calque of Finnish Molotovin koktaili. Coined in Finland during the Winter War of 1939–40 between Finland and the Soviet Union, and named after then-Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986), who claimed the bombs the Soviet Union dropped on Finland were airborne humanitarian food deliveries prompting Finns to say their firebombs were Molotov cocktails (drinks to go with his food deliveries).

How to pronounce molotov cocktail

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