From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishnutrientnu‧tri‧ent /ˈnjuːtriənt $ ˈnuː-/ ●○○ noun [countable] DFNHBa chemical or food that provides what is needed for plants or animals to live and grow The plant absorbs nutrients from the soil. —nutrient adjective
Examples from the Corpus
nutrient• Phosphorus is a nutrient used in fertilizer that helps plants grow.• This is the minimum daily amount of a nutrient required by an adult to prevent symptoms of deficiency.• Venom, it seems, is also a basic nutrient of politics.• Meat is rich in nutrients.• Water drains from it rapidly carrying away any soluble plant nutrient that may have been added.• Tenderly he wiped its mouth and nostrils and eyes as it coughed into life, vomiting saline nutrient over his hands.• Worldwide, indeed, surplus nutrient is at least as dangerously polluting as pure toxin.Origin nutrient (1600-1700) Latin present participle of nutrire “to feed, nourish” 