dietary supplement

noun

: a product taken orally that contains one or more ingredients (such as vitamins or amino acids) that are intended to supplement one's diet and are not considered food

Examples of dietary supplement in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates 5-Hour Energy as a dietary supplement, has investigated at least eight deaths and a dozen life-threatening reactions involving energy shots before and during the time period of the counterfeiting. —Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2026

This is the second Salmonella outbreak linked to dietary supplement in recent months. —Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026

Eleven Wisconsin residents have become sick, and two hospitalized, from a Salmonella infection linked to a dietary supplement powder by the brand Live It Up. —Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 15 Jan. 2026

An over-the-counter dietary supplement has been recalled because the packaging doesn’t let customers know about ingredients that can have life-threatening side effects. —David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 12 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1891, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

dietary supplement

noun

: a product taken orally that contains one or more ingredients (such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, or amino acids) that are intended to supplement one's diet and are not considered food

The study is looking at whether taking daily dietary supplements of vitamin D₃ or omega-3 fatty acids reduces the risk for developing cancer, heart disease and stroke.

—Mary Brophy Marcus, USA Today

A hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain, melatonin also occurs naturally in some foods. It therefore may be sold as a dietary supplement in the United States under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, without premarket approval from the FDA.

—Lynne Lamberg, The Journal of the American Medical Association

… batches of a dietary supplement L-tryptophan that have been implicated in a mysterious disease were produced by a genetically engineered organism.

—Leslie Roberts, Science