nutrient

American  

[noo-tree-uhnt, nyoo-] / ˈnu tri ənt, ˈnyu- /

adjective

1. nourishing; providing nourishment or nutriment.

2. containing or conveying nutriment, as solutions or vessels of the body.

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noun

1. a nutrient substance.

nutrient British  

/ ˈnjuːtrɪənt /

noun

1. any of the mineral substances that are absorbed by the roots of plants for nourishment

2. any substance that nourishes an organism

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adjective

1. providing or contributing to nourishment

   a nutrient solution

nutrient Scientific  

/ no̅o̅′trē-ənt /

1. A substance that provides nourishment for growth or metabolism. Plants absorb nutrients mainly from the soil in the form of minerals and other inorganic compounds, and animals obtain nutrients from ingested foods.

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Other Word Forms

• nonnutrient
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of nutrient

First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin nūtrient-, stem of nūtriēns “feeding,” present participle of nūtrīre “to feed”; see nourish

Explanation

A nutrient is anything that nourishes a living being. We humans get our nutrients from what we eat, plants get theirs from the soil. While the best nutrients are natural, we can also get them from vitamins in a bottle. The words nutrient and nourish both come from the Latin word nūtrīre, "to feed, nurse, support, preserve." Although usually used as a noun, the word nutrient started out in 1650 as an adjective meaning "providing nourishment." It's important to your health to get the proper nutrients, so the food pyramid was developed by nutritionists to show you the balance of foods you need each day.

Example Sentences

There, she explored how restoration efforts are shaping the carbon and nutrient cycles within the country’s wetland soils.

From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026

Bethany Maxwell, technical officer at Gibraltar Botanic Gardens, added: "We know that primates eat soil especially to detoxify or for nutrient supplementation."

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

The study, published in Nature, is the first to identify a single nutrient capable of directly enhancing intestinal stem cell regeneration.

From Science Daily • May 21, 2026

The study also looked at two further approaches - the impact land managers and farmers could have to reduce nutrient run-off from their land and the treatment of wastewater.

From BBC • May 20, 2026

Because of bamboo’s low nutrient value, a panda must eat between twenty and forty pounds a day, even in winter, to gain the nutrition it needs.

From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh

Related Words

• fiber
• food
• mineral
• vitamin