ambrosia

American  

[am-broh-zhuh] / æmˈbroʊ ʒə /

noun

1. Classical Mythology. the food of the gods.

2. something especially delicious to taste or smell.

3. a fruit dessert made of oranges and shredded coconut and sometimes pineapple.

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ambrosia British  

/ æmˈbrəʊzɪə /

noun

1. classical myth the food of the gods, said to bestow immortality Compare nectar

2. anything particularly delightful to taste or smell

3. another name for beebread

4. any of various herbaceous plants constituting the genus Ambrosia, mostly native to America but widely naturalized: family Asteraceae (composites). The genus includes the ragweeds

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ambrosia Cultural  

1. The food of the gods in classical mythology. Those who ate it became immortal.

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Discover More

Particularly delicious food is sometimes called “ambrosia.”

Other Word Forms

• ambrosial
  adjective
• ambrosially
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of ambrosia

1545–55; < Latin < Greek: immortality, food of the gods, noun use of feminine of ambrósios, equivalent to a- a- ⁶ + -mbros- (combining form of brotōs mortal; akin to Latin mortuus dead, murder ) + -ios adj. suffix; replacing Middle English ambrose, ambrosie < Old French ambroise < Latin

Explanation

In Greek mythology, ambrosia was the food of the gods. At a picnic, ambrosia is a dessert made with oranges and shredded coconut. While the former bestowed immortality on all who ate it, the latter tastes very refreshing after fried chicken and potato salad. In the Odyssey and the Iliad, Homer uses the word ambrosia for three things: the food of the Olympians, a salve used to treat corpses, and as a perfume to cover up the smell of uncured seal skins. Some scholars have identified ambrosia as honey while others feel that a type of hallucinogenic mushroom was meant in the myths. Regardless of all this confusion, the word is now used metaphorically to mean anything so fragrant, so delicious that it seems divine — including a popular orange-and-coconut confection.

Example Sentences

Christopher North, who played keyboards as a founding member of the soft-rock group Ambrosia, died Monday in a hospice in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

Rockstar also revealed the Leonida Keys, the industrial Ambrosia region, sleazy Port Gellhorn and the mountainous Kalaga National Park.

From BBC • May 6, 2025

Only the estimable Stephen Root, playing Carl’s station chief, and the vivacious Broadway performer Ciara Renée as Ambrosia, Carl’s younger, more talented rival, manage to nudge scenes from a saunter to a brisk walk.

From New York Times • Apr. 6, 2023

Ambrosia quickly trickled down to the middle classes with the rise of easily obtainable processed coconut and year-round access to oranges and pineapples.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 21, 2023

"But Ambrosia is the right favorite for the current royal family," she says, and the momentary happiness disappears like a popped bubble.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton