ambrosia

[ am-broh-zhuh ]

/ æmˈbroʊ ʒə /

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noun

Classical Mythology. the food of the gods.Compare nectar (def. 3).

something especially delicious to taste or smell.

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

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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 brotōsmortal; akin to Latin mortuus dead, murder) + -ios adj. suffix; replacing Middle English ambrose, ambrosie<Old French ambroise<Latin

Words nearby ambrosia

ambrette-seed oil, ambrettolide, ambroid, Ambrose, Ambrose Channel, ambrosia, ambrosia beetle, ambrosial, Ambrosian, Ambrosian chant, ambrotype

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ambrosia in a sentence

Female ambrosia beetles venture out from nests to start families at new sites.
What biologists call a species is becoming more than just a name|Jack J. Lee|October 14, 2021|Science News For Students
Gemstones make a fine addition to any home, but if you’re looking to really win over your friends, we recommend snagging some nectar and ambrosia.
Five sensational vacation destinations from the virtual worlds of video games|Shelly Tan, Elise Favis, Gene Park, Armand Emamdjomeh|February 25, 2021|Washington Post
If Tilda Swinton ate anything for five years straight, it would probably be ambrosia.
The Tilda Swinton Weirdness Quiz: All About the MoMA-Napping Actress|Melissa Leon|March 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Start with the beets and horseradish crème fraiche, then move on to the Ambrosia burger, ending strong with the banana cream pie.
Gal With a Suitcase|Jolie Hunt|February 20, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Like ambrosia from the gods, I suddenly realized that Nicotine is the most amazing legal substance of the twentieth century.
How My Little Slice of Heaven Became My Toddler's Hell|Laura Bennett|October 21, 2008|DAILY BEAST
The gods themselves were fed on nectar and ambrosia, that they might not die like ordinary mortals.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I|John Lord
This was long before the days of Dunbar's pollantin, Holbrook Curtis' ambrosia, adrenalin, and the modern vaccines.
The Treatment of Hay Fever|George Frederick Laidlaw
Thatcher has filled me amply with expensive urban food in this sylvan retreat—nectar and ambrosia.
A Hoosier Chronicle|Meredith Nicholson
To Achilles, lamenting the death of Patroclus, she came with nectar and ambrosia, that his limbs might not grow faint with hunger.
Greek Sculpture|Estelle M. Hurll
Even the gods required water and food; they were immortal because they had drunk ambrosia and eaten from the plant of life.
Myths of Babylonia and Assyria|Donald A. Mackenzie

British Dictionary definitions for ambrosia

ambrosia

/ (æmˈbrəʊzɪə) /

noun

classical myth the food of the gods, said to bestow immortalityCompare nectar (def. 2)

anything particularly delightful to taste or smell

another name for beebread

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

Derived forms of ambrosia

ambrosial or ambrosian, adjectiveambrosially, adverb

Word Origin for ambrosia

C16: via Latin from Greek: immortality, from ambrotos, from a- 1 + brotos mortal

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for ambrosia

ambrosia

[ (am-broh-zhuh) ]

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

notes for ambrosia

Particularly delicious food is sometimes called “ambrosia.”

ambrosia

Origin of ambrosia

Words nearby ambrosia

Words related to ambrosia

How to use ambrosia in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ambrosia

Derived forms of ambrosia

Word Origin for ambrosia

Cultural definitions for ambrosia

notes for ambrosia