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
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.
None of that is a recipe for strong growth.
From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026
In my recipe, I haven’t used as many egg yolks as they do at the restaurant because I don’t want you to be burdened with leftover egg whites.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
By 1952, Haagy had figured out the smog recipe: Start with the dirty leftovers of burning fossil fuel from factories, oil refineries, and the unburned gas exhaust from cars and trucks.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
It’s a recipe for a mess, as all reconciliation bills—successful and unsuccessful—are.
From Slate • Mar. 24, 2026
The cook made her special milk tarts from a recipe provided by Dr. van Heerden.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
