ingredient
Americannoun
-
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
Selection Vocabulary 1, Unit 1
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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:
The Michelin Guide awards up to three stars to eateries based on ingredient quality, flavour mastery, cooking technique, chef's personality and consistency.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The soup works because every ingredient seems delighted by the company.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
It added: “The affected ingredient from our supplier is being indefinitely removed from our supply chain nationwide and will be replaced within 24 hours in select states.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
Romany specialises in recycled polyethylene, one of the world's most widely used plastics and a key ingredient in packaging.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
There was just one rule: We couldn’t use an ingredient that would spoil and stink up the classroom, like milk, or something that wasn’t good for us to breathe, like gas.
From "Because of Mr. Terupt" by Rob Buyea
He added that restaurants in other countries, such as Australia, Denmark and the UK, also use ants as ingredients.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Laurie Schalow, Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs and food-safety officer, said in a brief statement that the chain was tracking the investigation, adding: “At this time, we don’t believe the ingredients we source are associated.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
The key is to opt for ingredients that balance the date’s high sugar content.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
The experiment offers new clues about how some of the chemical ingredients associated with life could have developed before Earth even formed.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
The three of them watched as the flames ate through all the powdery ingredients and the wax spun out like rich black ink, creating a map.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
