vegetarian

noun veg·e·tar·i·an \ ˌve-jə-ˈter-ē-ən \

|Updated on: 10 Jun 2018

Editor's Note: The difference between vegetarian, vegan, and other diets

Definition of vegetarian

1 : a person who does not eat meat : someone whose diet consists wholly of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, and sometimes eggs or dairy products

2 : herbivore

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Recent Examples of vegetarian from the Web

This supplement is suitable for vegetarians and is gluten-, wheat-, and dairy-free.

— korin miller, Allure, "The Truth About Biotin Supplements, According to Nutritionists," 18 May 2018
And for vegetarians, there will be two new veggie burgers: the Beyond Burger from AJ Bombers and the Impossible Burger from Ward’s House of Prime.

— nancy stohs, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Summerfest's new menu items include bacon cannoli, tater tot poutine and 'walking nachos'," 17 May 2018
Bourdain said it himself—this is no country for vegetarians.

— bridget hallinan, Condé Nast Traveler, "Recap: Anthony Bourdain Eats All the Meat in Uruguay in 'Parts Unknown'," 7 May 2018
With this type of venue, these Bites and the Small Plates are a good way to go, and there’s plenty of options for vegetarians.

— michael bauer, San Francisco Chronicle, "Tenderloin’s Black Cat evolves into a romantic supper club," 2 May 2018
That means there's not a lot of Instant Pot inspiration out there for vegetarians or anyone who wants to eat meatless once in a while.

— audrey bruno, SELF, "15 Healthy Meatless Instant Pot Dinners," 21 Mar. 2018
This makes them terrific muscle-building meat substitutes for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

— the editors of organic life, Good Housekeeping, "6 Healthiest Beans You Can Eat," 15 Aug. 2016
But vegans and vegetarians avoid the age-old dish because most recipes call for some kind of seafood to give a little extra umami boost.

— marissa fessenden, Smithsonian, "Vegan Kimchi Is Microbially Pretty Close to the Original," 7 May 2018
While Bella and her husband Daniel Bryan have been dedicated vegetarians for years, the star of E!

— jodi guglielmi, PEOPLE.com, "Total Bellas' Brie Bella Talks Raising Daughter Birdie, 11 Months, as a Vegetarian," 24 Apr. 2018

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

The difference between vegetarian, vegan, and other diets

The word vegetarian sprouted up in 1839. Fruitarian ("a person who lives on fruit") ripened by 1893. In 1944, vegetarians who consume no animal or dairy products began calling themselves vegans. Then, in 1993, those who eat fish but no other meat chose pesce, the Italian word for "fish," to create the designation pescatarian. In that same year, meatatarian was served up as a word for those whose diet largely includes meat; that word is rare, however, and is usually used in informal and humorous ways, making it the type of fare not included in our dictionaries. Another fairly recent dietary word is flexitarian, a person who follows a mostly vegetarian diet but occasionally eats meat or fish.