vegetarian

American  

[vej-i-tair-ee-uhn] / ˌvɛdʒ ɪˈtɛər i ən /

noun

• vegetarians
  plural

1. a person who does not eat or does not believe in eating meat, fish, fowl, or, in some cases, any food derived from animals, as eggs or cheese, but subsists on vegetables, fruits, nuts, grain, etc.

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adjective

1. of or relating to vegetarianism or vegetarians.

2. devoted to or advocating this practice.

3. consisting solely of vegetables.

   vegetarian vegetable soup.

vegetarian British  

/ ˌvɛdʒɪˈtɛərɪən /

noun

1. a person who advocates or practises vegetarianism

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adjective

1. relating to, advocating, or practising vegetarianism

2. cookery strictly, consisting of vegetables and fruit only, but usually including milk, cheese, eggs, etc

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonvegetarian
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vegetarians
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of vegetarian

First recorded in 1835–45; veget(able) + -arian

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Explanation

A vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat any meat, including fish. Many vegetarians eat plenty of fruits and vegetables — but others subsist on pizza and mac and cheese. This is a word that has to do with diet — what people eat. Vegetarians avoid meat, usually for health reasons, for environmental reasons, or because they believe it's wrong to kill animals for food. Vegetarians will eat some animal products, like eggs and dairy, but vegans won't. Both vegetarian and vegan diets are becoming more common. Many animals are vegetarians, including our close relative, the gorilla.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vegetarian vegetarians

“I’m starting to venture into a lot of vegetarian cooking,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

"Max, a vegetarian and a teetotaler who expanded his consciousness through yoga, not drugs, was one of the most visible and successful artists of his time," the Times said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

In practice, though, the museum friends and the beach friends are forming opposing factions, and the vegetarian friend is hovering between malnourishment and total banishment.

From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026

In New York, vegetarian restaurant Dirt Candy was one of the very first to ban tipping back in 2015.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

Rules in place, I settled into my new vegetarian lifestyle.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

For vegetarians, you can get your protein from lentils, nuts, milk, tofu and cheese too.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

In the same vein, if you have a decent number of vegetarians joining you, put together a separate fund for protein.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026

They’re vegetarians: They eat grass, alfalfa, cassava, sweet potato, carrots, beets, and, at the zoo, a commercial feed.

From Slate ● May 27, 2026

Because vegetarians and vegans avoid animal products, they naturally consume less methionine and cysteine than people who regularly eat meat.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 27, 2026

They are one of the larger land-animals of Winter, about the size of a fox, oviparous vegetarians with a splendid coat of gray or white fur.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

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