nutrient

American  

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

adjective

1. nourishing; providing nourishment or nutriment.

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

---

noun

• nutrients
  plural

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

---

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.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonnutrient
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• nutrients
  plural

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

See Examples For:

nutrient nutrients

The new approach may support future research into soil fertility, nutrient management, and more sustainable food production systems.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026

Abiotic stress is particularly important for crops grown in nutrient poor materials such as lunar and Martian regolith.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

The proposal targets a market currently dominated by Canada, the world’s largest producer of potash, a vital fertilizer component and an essential plant nutrient with no substitute in global food production.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

This sets off a chemical reaction freeing phosphorus, a primary nutrient for the algae, from the lake floor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 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

But none are being produced affordably at scale, and the alternatives often lack the nutrients that support the growth of farmed fish.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

This is likely due to the loss of muscle or to a diet lacking in protein and other nutrients.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

She described the meals as tasteless and lacking in important nutrients she believes patients need while recovering.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

All of these took a toll on the industry, but none of them proved as ruinous as citrus greening, a disease that clogs trees’ vascular systems, choking off water and nutrients.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

But microbes evolved to feed on the nutrients within our own bodies, and they don’t have wings to let them reach a new victim’s body once the original victim is dead or resistant.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• fiber
• food
• mineral
• vitamin