Definition of "phial" [phi•al]

• A vial. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "To suppose the eggs of the former microscopic animals to float in the atmosphere, and pass through the sealed glass phial, is so contrary to apparent nature, as to be totally incredible! and as the latter are viviparous, it is equally absurd to suppose, that their parents float universally in the atmosphere to lay their young in paste or vinegar!"
• "Round the neck of the phial was a label, and thereon was written this one word,"
• "And why, on 5 February, Colin Powell held up a phial in the UN security council, while he gave the "UK ricin plot" as a reason to go to war with Iraq."