recipe

[ res-uh-pee ]

noun

1. a set of instructions for making or preparing something, especially a food dish:

   a recipe for a cake.

2. a medical prescription.
3. a method to attain a desired end:

   a recipe for success.

recipe

/ ˈrɛsɪpɪ /

noun

1. a list of ingredients and directions for making something, esp a food preparation
2. med (formerly) a medical prescription
3. a method for achieving some desired objective

   a recipe for success

Word History and Origins

Origin of recipe¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: take, imperative singular of recipere to receive

Word History and Origins

Origin of recipe¹

C14: from Latin, literally: take (it)! from recipere to take, receive

Example Sentences

Add that to the Yale Budget Lab’s estimate of more than 5 percent inflation from the more extreme versions of Trump’s tariff scenarios, and you have the recipe for an inflationary spiral that would make post-pandemic price increases look like a gentle hill that we climbed happily together on a languid summer afternoon.

From Slate

I feel like I have to put every tip into one phenomenal recipe.

From Los Angeles Times

I voted regularly and had a pretty good smoothie recipe.

From Los Angeles Times

Hey, if you're really riled up, why not make every recipe on the list?

From Salon

The Liberal Democrats branded the appointments a "cabinet of contradictions" and "a recipe for yet more Conservative chaos".

From BBC

Related Words

• method
• prescription
• program
• technique