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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Selection Vocabulary 1, Unit 1
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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.
"It's a very, very natural basic ingredient that's essential to the full enjoyment of life."
From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026
Prime numbers are the key ingredient in cryptography, keeping our communications secure and our cryptocurrency flowing.
From Slate • Jun. 22, 2026
Interactive invites help take the stress out of planning your menu, figuring out how much of each ingredient you’ll need and how many servings you’ll need to make.
From Salon • Jun. 21, 2026
Cobalt is a critical ingredient in lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems, but new research suggests the global cobalt supply chain may be far more vulnerable than previously recognized.
From Science Daily • Jun. 20, 2026
‘I do hope Dad comes through this war all right. Zeus can be . . . quite unreasonable. Now, the only missing ingredient is the heartbeat of the chained god.’
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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.
