recipe
Americannoun
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a set of instructions for making or preparing something, especially a food dish.
a recipe for a cake.
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a medical prescription.
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a method to attain a desired end.
a recipe for success.
noun
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a list of ingredients and directions for making something, esp a food preparation
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med (formerly) a medical prescription
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a method for achieving some desired objective
a recipe for success
Etymology
Origin of recipe
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: take, imperative singular of recipere to receive
Explanation
A recipe is directions for making a dish or dessert, like your mother's award-winning recipe for chocolate chip cookies. The word recipe is most often used when talking about cooking. It includes two things: a list of ingredients that you'll need and the steps to take in order to make it. You can find recipes in cookbooks, on Web sites, in newspapers and magazines — or handed down in your family. Other than cooking, a recipe can also be a formula: the recipe for success is hard work, good timing and a little luck.
Vocabulary lists containing recipe
Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
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Passover Vocabulary
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List 7
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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.
To find out, I asked Marcia Mantell, author of “Creating Your Medicare Recipe: Your guide to enrolling on time and without penalties,” for her thoughts.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 26, 2025
Moments later, White is making her way down the hot pink Glow Recipe aisle in an oversize Lilo & Stitch T-shirt and sparkly green eyeliner, ticking off her favorite products in rapid succession.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2024
An accompanying podcast, “Dora’s Recipe for Adventure,” will expand the little girl’s exploits into the culinary sphere.
From New York Times • Apr. 10, 2024
She started with simple, cheap skincare products that are good for young skin, but when she saw products like Drunk Elephant and Glow Recipe being used by influencers and her friends, she wanted those.
From BBC • Feb. 10, 2024
Elizabeth and I have made plans to work on our Secret Award-Winning Recipe at her house.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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.
