manna

noun

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man·na | \ ˈma-nə

Definition of manna

1a : food miraculously supplied to the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness

b : divinely supplied spiritual nourishment

c : a usually sudden and unexpected source of gratification, pleasure, or gain

2a : the sweetish dried exudate of a Eurasian ash (especially Fraxinus ornus) that contains mannitol and has been used as a laxative and demulcent

b : a similar product excreted by a scale insect (Trabutina mannipara) feeding on the tamarisk

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Synonyms for manna

Synonyms

Examples of manna in a Sentence

Your generous gift was manna from heaven. the announcement that there would be a sequel was manna to the many fans of the original movie

Recent Examples on the Web Dispensing counsel cloaked in story, Lamott spins her self-deprecating ruminations into manna for the majority. — Washington Post, "Anne Lamott reflects on the popularity of her spiritual books and how she became ‘a pretty decent writer’," 1 Mar. 2021 Their support for low taxes and light regulation was manna to executives eager to raise profits and avoid government entanglements, and chief executives and big companies were reliable funders of Republicans up and down the ballot. — David Gelles, New York Times, "‘We Need to Stabilize’: Big Business Breaks With Republicans," 15 Jan. 2021 Pass rushers such as Melvin Ingram or Ryan Kerrigan would be manna from heaven. — Nate Davis, USA TODAY, "NFL trade deadline: What moves should all 32 teams make?," 29 Oct. 2020 For practitioners of what used to be called the lively arts, Life Isn’t Everything, an oral biography of Mike Nichols, is manna from heaven, its brilliantly orchestrated polyphony bringing him, his work, and his world to vivid life. — Simon Callow, The New York Review of Books, "Charm Defensive," 8 Sep. 2020 And, like manna from heaven, now the world’s largest battery backup facility is up and running in San Diego. — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, "The World's Biggest Battery Farm Is Alive in California," 2 Sep. 2020 There are treasures buried underground, like gold, silver, and diamonds—and then there is manna from heaven. — Joel Goldberg, Science | AAAS, "Watch: Space rocks impacted this Costa Rican village in more ways than one," 19 Aug. 2020 This ecosystem is fuelled by what is known as marine snow—a steady shower of small, nutrient-rich particles that fall like manna from the ocean layers near the surface, where photosynthesis takes place. — The Economist, "Palaeomicrobiology Researchers revive bacteria from the era of the dinosaurs," 1 Aug. 2020 Ruth Fremson/The New York Times Grants, low-interest loans and other government support might seem like manna for businesses under financial strain. — Peter Eavis, New York Times, "Take Government Aid? We’ll See, Some Businesses Say," 3 Apr. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'manna.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.