di·et 1
(dī′ĭt)n.
1. The usual food and drink of a person or animal.
2. A regulated selection of foods, as for medical reasons or cosmetic weight loss.
3. Something used, enjoyed, or provided regularly: subsisted on a diet of detective novels during his vacation.
adj.
1. Of or relating to a food regimen designed to promote weight loss in a person or an animal: the diet industry.
2.
a. Having fewer calories.
b. Sweetened with a noncaloric sugar substitute.
3. Designed to reduce or suppress the appetite: diet pills; diet drugs.
v. di·et·ed, di·et·ing, di·ets
v.intr.
To eat and drink according to a regulated system, especially so as to lose weight or control a medical condition.
v.tr.
To regulate or prescribe food and drink for.
[Middle English diete, from Old French, from Latin diaeta, way of living, diet, from Greek diaita, back-formation from diaitāsthai, to live one's life, middle voice of diaitān, to treat.]
di′et·er n.
di·et 2
(dī′ĭt)n.
1. A national or local legislative assembly in certain countries, such as Japan.
2. A formal general assembly of the princes or estates of the Holy Roman Empire.
[Middle English diete, day's journey, day for meeting, assembly, from Medieval Latin diēta, alteration (influenced by Latin diēs, day) of Latin diaeta, daily routine; see diet1.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
dieting - the act of restricting your food intake (or your intake of particular foods)