nutritious
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of nutritious
1655–65; < Latin nūtrītius that suckles, nourishes, variant of nūtrīcius, equivalent to nūtrīci- (stem of nūtrīx ) nurse ( see nurse) + -us adj. suffix ( see -ous)
Explanation
Nutritious describes food that's good for you. Brown rice and kale are nutritious, but jelly beans, sadly, are not. Something that provides nutrients — vitamins, minerals, and protein, for example — is nutritious. Our bodies need nutritious food to grow, heal, and stay healthy, however much we might crave tasty, non-nutritious snacks. The adjective nutritious comes from the Latin word nutritius, "that nourishes," which in turn comes from the root nutrix, "nurse."
Vocabulary lists containing nutritious
Unit 1: Ecological Systems
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Words to Describe Food
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The First State of Being
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Smoothies with bananas can still be nutritious, especially as part of a varied diet.
From Science Daily • May 24, 2026
He said people were "struggling to afford a very basic shop" and that he had a "public health responsibility" to provide an affordable nutritious diet.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
Many of the companies assert that their products are nutritious, and they may be.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
Labeling a food as ultraprocessed doesn’t always indicate whether or not it’s nutritious, and that could cause confusion.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 23, 2026
Nigro had told us about the loaf—a nutritious but awful-tasting bread invented at the Great Meadow maximum-security prison solely for the purpose of feeding the worst inmates.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
