food processor

American  

noun

1. an electric appliance with interchangeable blades within a closed container into which food is inserted for slicing, shredding, mincing, chopping, puréeing, or otherwise processing at high speeds.

---

food processor British  

noun

1. cookery an electric domestic appliance designed to speed the preparation and mixing of ingredients by automatic chopping, grating, blending, etc

---

Other Word Forms

• food processing
  noun

Etymology

Origin of food processor

First recorded in 1970–75

Compare meaning

How does food-processor compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• food mill vs. food processor

Example Sentences

Alas, since there aren’t any emotional stakes, the action scenes are about as interesting as seeing tomatoes being put through the food processor.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

So are saccharine dishes like the cranberry orange relish that Michael Donnelly-Boylen sweetened with long pours of sugar into a food processor.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 26, 2025

On the morning of the lunch, Ms Patterson recounted frying off some garlic, shallots and several trays of supermarket-bought mushrooms that had been finely chopped in a food processor.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2025

Traditionally, pesto was made using a mortar and pestle, though a blender or food processor gets the job done just fine today.

From Salon • Apr. 25, 2025

I pushed a food processor to the side.

From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence

Related Words

• blender
• mixer