n. 1. An edible substance that is used in making a dish or other food. 2. An element or component of something: the ingredients in shampoo; the ingredients that made the scandal. See Synonyms at element. [Middle English, from Latin ingrediēns, ingredient-, present participle of ingredī, to enter; see INGRESS.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.