recipe

American  

[res-uh-pee] / ˈrɛs ə pi /

noun

• recipes
  plural

1. a set of instructions for making or preparing something, especially a food dish.

   a recipe for a cake.

2. a medical prescription.

3. a method to attain a desired end.

   a recipe for success.

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recipe British  

/ ˈrɛsɪpɪ /

noun

1. a list of ingredients and directions for making something, esp a food preparation

2. med (formerly) a medical prescription

3. a method for achieving some desired objective

   a recipe for success

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• recipes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of recipe

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: take, imperative singular of recipere to receive

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

recipe recipes

“And her recipe is true to what my grandmother’s recipe was. That will continue to live on, until we are able to go back to our island and live in peace.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

"Granting rights and moral protections to a technological entity, one that looks to be on a path to be seismically more capable and intelligent than us, is a recipe for disaster," he wrote.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

I went into the recipe expecting exactly that, was delighted to find it delivered and started experimenting with the same trick in soups of my own.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

Having won the Pearly Spurtle, he then spent the next six weeks improving the recipe in preparation for the ultimate challenge in Scotland.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

"The person who stole Kendra's recipe is probably a kid," she said slowly.

From "Scream for Ice Cream: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #2" by Carolyn Keene

If you're keen to up your intake, try some of these recipes.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Falafel and hummus, with varying recipes and consistencies, flow freely across countries of several faiths and backgrounds, while pizza bagels are a frozen food staple and challah French toast is seemingly everywhere.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

The decorated vessels were constructed using the Mississippian technique of coiling clay and followed more consistent clay recipes, suggesting a higher degree of specialized knowledge.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

Restaurants in the island’s six towns, from the Sweet Life Cafe in Oak Bluffs to the Fish House in Edgartown, tweaked menus, recipes and how they cook.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

I wrote about my favorite things to bake, describing all of the recipes in detail.

From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks

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Related Words

• method
• prescription
• program
• technique

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