nutraceutical

American

[noo-truh-soo-ti-kuhl] / ˌnu trəˈsu tɪ kəl /

Also nutriceutical

noun

a bioactive compound occurring as a food component, additive, or product, including vitamins, dietary fiber, herbal extracts, carotenoids, and probiotics: nutraceuticals are said to promote health and well-being, allegedly helping in the prevention and treatment of disease.

nutraceutical British

/ ˌnjuːtrəˈsjuːtɪkəl /

noun

another name for functional food

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of nutraceutical

Blend of nutrient ( def. ) and pharmaceutical ( def. ); coined by Stephen DeFelice, U.S. endocrinologist, in 1989

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:

nutraceutical

The analyses showed that the nutraceutical tablets had a striking effect on tumor biology.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 10, 2025

The nutraceutical is made in India, where it is regulated as a food for special medical purpose, or FSMP, and then shipped around the world.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 25, 2022

Elysium’s first nutraceutical product, called Basis, promises “metabolic repair and optimization.”

From The New Yorker ● Mar. 27, 2017

And by the way, where were those Facebook ads for our nutraceutical client?

From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2015

Tom Riddle of Philadelphia, a 55-year-old director at a nutraceutical company;

From Newsweek

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023