ambrosia

noun

am·​bro·​sia am-ˈbrō-zh(ē-)ə How to pronounce ambrosia (audio)
1
a
: the food of the Greek and Roman gods
b
: the ointment or perfume of the gods
2
: something extremely pleasing to taste or smell
3
: a dessert made of oranges and shredded coconut
ambrosial adjective
ambrosially adverb

Examples of ambrosia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web These slides are my ambrosia, and with them my feet are immortal. Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Mar. 2024 No matter the origin, Southerners love their ambrosia. Emily Nabors Hall, Southern Living, 5 Jan. 2024 My sister had dished up ambrosia—a medley of fresh oranges, pineapple, and pecans—that Mother used to make. Cassandra King, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2023 Active Time: 18 mins Total Time: 1 hr 8 mins Servings: 6 Topped with a spicy-sweet peanut crumble and served over coconut yogurt, this is definitely not your grandma's ambrosia. Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 1 Aug. 2023 There is no ambrosia here, just bad coffee. Washington Post, 10 May 2022 Her preparations include cleansing and perfuming herself with divinely fragrant ambrosia as well as borrowing a magical, lust-inducing belt from Aphrodite. Britta Ager, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2021 The long pavilion tables at College Mound United Methodist Church, seven miles southeast of Terrell in Kaufman County, won’t be piled with fried chicken, black-eyed peas, green bean casseroles or ambrosia salads. Marc Ramirez, Dallas News, 25 Apr. 2020 Ambrosia Panna Cotta with Pineapple Citrus Relish, Toasted Coconut and Pecans McCook created this recipe to revisit memories of her grandmother’s ambrosia, a Southern specialty. Allie Morris, Dallas News, 18 Feb. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ambrosia.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from Greek, literally, immortality, from ambrotos immortal, from a- + -mbrotos (akin to brotos mortal) — more at murder

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of ambrosia was in the 15th century

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near ambrosia

Cite this Entry

“Ambrosia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ambrosia. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ambrosia

noun
am·​bro·​sia am-ˈbrō-zh(ē-)ə How to pronounce ambrosia (audio)
1
: the food of the Greek and Roman gods
2
: something extremely pleasing to taste or smell
3
: a dessert made of oranges and shredded coconut
ambrosial adjective

Medical Definition

Ambrosia

noun
Am·​bro·​sia am-ˈbrō-zh(ē-)ə How to pronounce Ambrosia (audio)
: a genus of mostly American composite herbs that includes the ragweeds

More from Merriam-Webster on ambrosia

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!