nutritional

nutritional — adjective

1. relating to the natural substances in food and drink that humans and animals nee

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

relating to the natural substances in food and drink that humans and animals need for energy, growth, and staying healthy

Example

The box of oat cereal has a chart with nutritional information on the side.

collocation: nutritional information

Leila checks the nutritional facts on every snack before she buys it.

collocation: nutritional facts (on food labels)

Common collocations
  • nutritional value
  • nutritional content
  • nutritional needs
  • nutritional information
  • nutritional status
  • nutritional requirements
  • nutritional health
  • nutritional supplement
  • nutritional facts
  • nutritional intake
Synonyms
  • dietary

    more focused on the specific food a person eats rather than the broader science of nutrients (e.g., 'dietary fibre', 'dietary habits')

  • alimentary

    formal or technical term relating to the process of nutrition and digestion (e.g., 'alimentary canal'); much less common in everyday language

Grammar Patterns

nutritional + noun

Usage Note

Frequently used in attributive position before nouns such as value, content, needs, and information. Unlike 'nutritious', which evaluates food as being rich in beneficial nutrients, 'nutritional' simply indicates a connection to the science or process of nutrition without making a quality judgement.

Common Mistakes

This meal is very nutritional.
This meal is very nutritious.
'nutritional' means 'relating to nutrition,' while 'nutritious' means 'containing many beneficial nutrients.'

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Nutritional and nutritious are the most commonly confused pair. Nutritional relates broadly to the nutrients in food and how the body uses them ('nutritional content,' 'nutritional requirements'), without judging whether the food is good for you. Nutritious, in contrast, describes food that is rich in beneficial nutrients and healthy to eat ('a nutritious breakfast,' 'nutritious vegetables'). Dietary is narrower: it refers to the specific food a person or group consumes, including restrictions and habits ('dietary fibre,' 'dietary preferences'). Alimentary is a formal, technical term used mainly in biology and medicine for the process of digestion and nutrition ('the alimentary canal'). For example, you can discuss the nutritional value of a meal (factual) and then decide if it is actually nutritious (a positive judgement).

nutritional ↗nutritious ↗dietary ↗alimentary

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • nutritionally

Phrases

  • nutritional value
  • nutritional content
  • nutritional information
  • nutritional needs
  • nutritional requirements
  • nutritional status
  • nutritional health
  • nutritional facts
  • nutritional supplement

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Derived from 'nutrition' (from Latin 'nutritio', meaning 'a nourishing', from 'nutrire' 'to nourish, feed') plus the adjective-forming suffix '-al'. The word entered English through French 'nutrition' in the 16th century.