ingredient
Americannoun
-
ingredients
plural
-
something that enters as an element into a mixture.
Flour, eggs, and sugar are the main ingredients in the cake.
-
a constituent element of anything; component.
the ingredients of political success.
noun
Synonym Usage
See element.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing ingredient
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National Cookie Day
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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.
See Examples For:
Member’s Mark finished the ingredient overhaul for the products in December 2025, Scheidler said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
It appeared as cooking oil, frying fat, shortening, salad dressing, mayonnaise and an inconspicuous ingredient in packaged foods.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
Semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy, may do more than suppress appetite and improve blood sugar.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
People with sensitivities to the seed have long been vulnerable to reactions from accidental exposure because regulators have not required labeling of the ingredient.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
“Only the key ingredient in my favorite candy bar,” he answered.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
It is used to purchase ingredients like meat, chicken or fish.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
Getting the color and appearance right for the icing on cupcakes alone required a nearly thirtyfold increase in natural ingredients.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
He’s an incredible player and I think everybody just brings an ingredient that we didn’t have before, so that when all the ingredients come together, it’s kind of like a masterful dish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
In Gilt, there were the right ingredients for a primordial soup of entrepreneurship: a hot company capable of attracting the best talent, Ryan said—and then it was sold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
While Sara and I put ingredients into our saucepan, I lead into my question.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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.
