ingredient

American  

[in-gree-dee-uhnt] / ɪnˈgri di ənt /

noun

• ingredients
  plural

1. something that enters as an element into a mixture.

   Flour, eggs, and sugar are the main ingredients in the cake.

2. a constituent element of anything; component.

   the ingredients of political success.

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ingredient British  

/ ɪnˈɡriːdɪənt /

noun

1. a component of a mixture, compound, etc, esp in cooking

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Synonym Usage

See element.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ingredients
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ingredient

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English from Latin ingredient- (stem of ingrediēns ), present participle of ingredī “to go or step into, commence,” equivalent to in- in- ² + -gredient- “going”; see gradient

Explanation

An ingredient is one part of a mixture. For example, if you're making chocolate chip cookies, flour is just one ingredient you'll need. Ingredient comes from the Latin word ingredientem, meaning "that which enters into." It's not just for cookies. If you're in the lab mixing a chemical compound, you carefully add one ingredient after the next and record the results (and hope nothing blows up). It's also an element or factor of something, such as how that song you wrote has all the ingredients to be a sure-fire hit! Remember that it ends in -ent, since often what you Eat has ingrediEnts.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ingredient ingredients

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation said this week all manufacturers of pesticide products containing the active ingredient have voluntarily agreed to withdraw the product from the market.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Lurie has advocated for fixes to the ingredient rules and he said the new proposed rule was in effect “voluntary.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Unlike a traditional placebo, where participants may not know they are receiving an inactive treatment, people taking part in an open placebo know from the beginning that no active medical ingredient is involved.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026

Wright added that the company would “rebuild the menu at the ingredient level” and rethink how it prices its items.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026

The culprit turned out to be a turkey chili recipe that she and Wilson had discovered: every ingredient except the turkey came from a can.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

Under the proposed federal rule, companies would have to notify regulators before adding new ingredients.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

The full-service restaurant and bar features classic American cuisine with California-sourced ingredients and is located at the top of the museum with sweeping city views.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Food suppliers can still put new ingredients on the market before they notify regulators, Diamantas said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

After that semester, Min opted to pack turkey or tuna salad sandwiches for school, using bulk ingredients that his family buys from Costco.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

Gold incant pots glowing like bowls of sunlight sat on shelves ready to be filled with ingredients.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

Related Words

• additive
• element
• factor
• piece