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

Etymology

Origin of vegetarian

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

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

Like many Emersonians, the elder Alcott was a vegetarian who cherished animal welfare.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

She’s a vegetarian but she’s a picky vegetarian, so that combo makes it almost impossible for her to find food anywhere.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Under the new arrangement, eggs will be provided separately through women's welfare groups while the charity would continue to supply "pure" vegetarian meals.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

There’s also plenty of ginger and soy sauce, sesame oil and vegetarian stir-fry/oyster sauce.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

So in the past week Molly has made cheese and mushroom quesadillas, vegetarian chili, and eggplant lasagna.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

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

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

People at higher risk, including vegans, vegetarians, older adults and those taking medicines that affect stomach acid or diabetes treatment, may need testing or supplementation advice from a health professional.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 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 it turned out that he was good at delivering meals, at making sure the diabetics never got the kosher boxes or the vegetarians the meat ones.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman