# diet

Pronunciation: say "DY-uht" /ˈdaɪət/

## Noun

1. The range of food and drink that a person or animal regularly consumes.
   - Simple: The usual food and drink that a person or animal takes in.
   - _Coastal communities often have a diet rich in fish and shellfish._
   - _Researchers studied how the animals' diets changed across the seasons._
2. A controlled plan of food and drink choices, followed to gain or lose weight or otherwise affect one's health.
   - Simple: A planned way of eating to lose weight, gain weight, or stay healthy.
   - _The clinic designed a diet aimed at lowering his cholesterol._
   - _Many fad diets promise rapid results but rarely deliver lasting change._
5. Any regular intake or consumption, especially viewed as a habitual pattern.
   - Simple: The usual things a person regularly takes in, such as books, shows, or music.
   - _Her diet of nineteenth-century novels shaped how she wrote._
   - _Children raised on a diet of screen time may struggle to focus._
6. A formal assembly of leaders or representatives gathered for deliberation, in some countries the national legislature.
   - Simple: A formal meeting of leaders or lawmakers who gather to make decisions.
   - _The imperial diet convened to debate the new law._
   - _Members of the diet argued for hours before reaching a compromise._
9. A scheduled session or sitting of examinations. *(dialectal, Scotland)*
   - Simple: A set period when exams are held.
   - _She passed every paper in the spring diet._
   - _Students who fell ill before the main diet were given a later sitting._

## Verb

3. To control what one eats and drinks in order to lose or gain weight, or to improve one's health.
   - Simple: To change what you eat in order to lose or gain weight or get healthier.
   - _He decided to diet seriously after his last checkup._
   - _Many people diet in January only to give up by February._

## Adjective

4. Of a food or drink, containing less fat, salt, sugar, or calories than usual, or claimed to do so.
   - Simple: Made with less fat, sugar, salt, or calories than the normal version.
   - _The store stocks several diet sodas alongside the regular ones._
   - _He prefers diet versions of his favorite drinks._
7. Of something, presented as a reduced or watered-down version, with certain features removed. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Being a smaller or simpler version of something, with some parts taken away.
   - _Reviewers dismissed the budget phone as a diet rendition of the flagship._
   - _The reboot felt like diet nostalgia, missing what made the original great._

## Verb

8. To regulate another person's food intake; to put someone on a controlled regimen of eating. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To control what someone else eats, often to improve their health.
10. To eat one's meals; to take regular food. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To eat or sit down to your meals.
11. To cause a person or animal to take food; to feed them. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To give food to a person or animal.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A sitting of a criminal court; a fixed stage in criminal proceedings.
- (noun) A clerical service or ecclesiastical function, especially a church service in Scottish usage.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 4–5, 7** — Ancient Greek díaita passed into Latin as diaeta and into Medieval Latin as dieta, meaning regimen or assembly. From there it went to Old French diete and Middle English diet.
**Meanings 3, 8, 10–11** — Medieval Latin diētāre and Old French dïeter both fed into Middle English dieten, from which this verb comes.
**Meanings 6, 9** — Ancient Greek díaita (way of living, decision, judgment) became Medieval Latin diēta or diaeta, which meant a public assembly, a set day of trial, or a day's journey and was influenced by Latin diēs (day). It then passed through Old French diete into Middle English diet.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/diet (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).