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

Whisked egg yolks and sugar get spooned on top, like a frothy, golden ambrosia.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

“Nothing calms me down,” Marge says, “like making a fresh batch of ambrosia salad. With plenty of grapes.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

For some, though, “fruit salad” still conjures images of syrup-slicked fruit orbs — maybe even veering into ambrosia territory.

From Salon • May 31, 2025

The Kentucky volunteers also have to watch over the trees throughout the year to protect them from the destructive ambrosia beetles, whose larvae would quickly kill half of the orchard if left unchecked.

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2023

One carried a box of ambrosia up the stairs.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan