ingredient

American  

[in-gree-dee-uhnt] / ɪnˈgri di ənt /

noun

• ingredients
  plural

1. something that enters as an element into a mixture.

   Flour, eggs, and sugar are the main ingredients in the cake.

2. a constituent element of anything; component.

   the ingredients of political success.

---

ingredient British  

/ ɪnˈɡriːdɪənt /

noun

1. a component of a mixture, compound, etc, esp in cooking

---

Synonym Usage

See element.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ingredients
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ingredient

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English from Latin ingredient- (stem of ingrediēns ), present participle of ingredī “to go or step into, commence,” equivalent to in- in- ² + -gredient- “going”; see gradient

Explanation

An ingredient is one part of a mixture. For example, if you're making chocolate chip cookies, flour is just one ingredient you'll need. Ingredient comes from the Latin word ingredientem, meaning "that which enters into." It's not just for cookies. If you're in the lab mixing a chemical compound, you carefully add one ingredient after the next and record the results (and hope nothing blows up). It's also an element or factor of something, such as how that song you wrote has all the ingredients to be a sure-fire hit! Remember that it ends in -ent, since often what you Eat has ingrediEnts.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ingredient ingredients

A beef-tallow-induced identity crisis: Earlier this year, Luke Winkie set out to crack the biggest culinary mystery in America: Why has this old-fashioned cooking ingredient become so polarizing?

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

Here’s one more ingredient in the reversal of fortune for some malls: claw machines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Semaglutide, the active ingredient in GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic, has emerged as one of the most effective drugs ever developed to treat obesity.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

Dancers with backgrounds in all styles, including salsa, hip-hop and jazz, provided the last ingredient to the energetic scene.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

‘What about the last ingredient - the curse of Delos. What is it?’

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

"We are always interested in exploring better local produce as it evolves. Supporting Indian agriculture and working with indigenous ingredients is central to how we approach food."

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

But like many in the catering industry, he would like to source ingredients locally.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

The cities have vast differences, but possess a few common ingredients that seem to have spurred their growing population of children: high-paying jobs and decent local schools.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

During a panel titled “The World’s Most Influential Food,” chef Brandon Jew talked about incorporating traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients into his cooking.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026

Imani’s mom lets us run into the mall alone to get our slime supplies—they’ve got new colors and fragrances and glitters, all kinds of different ingredients to use.

From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper

Related Words

• additive
• element
• factor
• piece