What does nutrient mean?
A nutrient is a substance that an organism needs in order to grow, function, and remain healthy. Plants, animals, and humans obtain nutrients in different ways: plants take up minerals and other substances from soil, water, and air, while animals obtain them by consuming plants or other organisms. The word is especially common in discussions of food, health, agriculture, and environmental science. Vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates are all commonly described as nutrients, although they play distinct biological roles. In a nutritional context, the word carries a broadly positive association because nutrients are essential to good health. In ecology, however, the term can describe substances that support growth without implying that they are beneficial to every organism, as is the case with excess nutrients in water.
nounA substance that provides nourishment or is necessary for the growth and survival of an organism. Nutrients include substances such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, and vitamins.
- A substance that provides nourishment or supports an organism's growth, health, and survival.
- A component of food or another material that is taken up or used by an organism for physiological purposes.
"A balanced diet supplies the nutrients needed for good health."
"Plants absorb mineral nutrients from the soil through their roots."
"The doctor advised her to increase her intake of essential nutrients after the blood test."
The plural is used when referring to multiple substances that support growth, health, or biological activity.
"Leafy green vegetables are rich in several essential nutrients."
You can survive longer without food than you can without water, but every meal depends on nutrients that the body cannot make for itself.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does nutrient come from?
The word comes through Old French from Latin nutriens, meaning “nourishing” or “feeding,” and ultimately from Latin nutrire, “to nourish, nurse, or sustain.” The underlying idea of nourishment also appears in cognates such as nutrition, nutritious, and nutritive. The modern scientific sense developed alongside the study of the substances needed for the growth and maintenance of living organisms.
Related word forms
How nutrient is actually used
The term is common in science, health, agriculture, and nutrition. It usually denotes a beneficial or physiologically necessary substance, though in environmental contexts a nutrient can also be something such as nitrogen that promotes biological growth.
Easily confused with nutrient
A nutrient is an individual substance that nourishes or supports an organism, whereas nutrition refers to the process or study of obtaining and using nutrients.