macrobiotic

adjective

mac·​ro·​bi·​ot·​ic ˌma-krō-bī-ˈä-tik 

-bē-

: of, relating to, or being a diet based on the Chinese cosmological principles of yin and yang that consists of whole cereals and grains supplemented especially with beans and vegetables and that in its especially former more restrictive forms has been linked to nutritional deficiencies

macrobiotics

ˌma-krō-bī-ˈä-tiks 

-bē-

noun, plural in form but singular in construction

Examples of macrobiotic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Or boil beans with kombu kelp the macrobiotic way, which helps with their digestibility and adds flavor. —Nina F. Ichikawa, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2023

Aero has an incredible partnership with Los Angeles cult-favorite Erewhon for lounge and in-flight provisions, with snacks like popcorn and Marcona almonds to avocado tartines and macrobiotic salads. —Krista Simmons, Sunset Magazine, 14 Sep. 2023

But everyone at Sha, even the waitstaff, is so hell-bent on the benefits of the macrobiotic diet that there’s little point arguing. —Mary Holland, Robb Report, 27 Aug. 2023

Chávez was a devout Catholic who also practiced Zen Buddhism and yoga, and followed a vegetarian and macrobiotic diet. —Dakota Kim, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2023

There are the clashes of titanic egos and obnoxious celebrity behavior, macrobiotic diets and parades of twentysomething model girlfriends, pompous warm-up exercises and performative IG posts about social causes (in this case, saving the nearly extinct pink dolphins). —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2022

The emphasis is on pre-gentrification, before the area was overrun with luxury homes and high-end grocery stores offering gourmet macrobiotic bowls. —Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2023

But one knows that macrobiotic diets are what scared people are going on to fire up their immune systems. —Thomas Mallon, The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2022

It’s not just the chef’s high end macrobiotic food offering, but the familial feel of guests and the family sitting around the communal table in the kitchen. —Monica Mendal, Vogue, 24 June 2022

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French macrobiotique, probably adapted from German Macrobiotic, noun (defined by its coiner as "the art of prolonging life"), from Greek makrobiótēs "longevity, long life" (from makróbios "long-lived" —from makrós "long" + -o- -o- + -bios "having life [of the kind specified]"— + -tēs, abstract noun suffix) + German -ic -ic entry 2 — more at macro-, amphibious

Note: French macrobiotique was used by the Japanese author George Ohsawa (Nyoichi Sakurazawa, 1893-1966) in La Philosophie de la Médecine d'Extrême-Orient (1956) and later works that popularized macrobiotic diet practices. He most likely adapted the word from German Macrobiotic (in later spelling Makrobiotik), apparently originated by the German physician Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland (1762-1836) in Die Kunst das menschliche Leben zu verlängern (Jena, 1797). Hufeland defined Macrobiotic in the preface (p. vi) as "the art of prolonging life" ("die Kunst das Leben zu verlängern"), and in later editions used Makrobiotik as the title of the book, with the original title as subtitle.

First Known Use

1956, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

macrobiotic

adjective

mac·​ro·​bi·​ot·​ic ˌmak-rō-bī-ˈät-ik, -bē- 

: of, relating to, or being a diet that consists of whole cereals and grains supplemented especially with beans and vegetables and that in its especially former more restrictive forms has been linked to nutritional deficiencies