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 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 The menu features bratwurst with sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, pickled beets and ambrosia. San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Sep. 2019 And when the citizens of Thebes asked Hercules to prove his strength by helping with affordable housing, the 1,800 or so citizens at the Delacorte lapped it up like ambrosia. Jesse Green, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2019 See More

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

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Cite this Entry

“Ambrosia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ambrosia. Accessed 27 Sep. 2023.

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

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