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Meaning & use

a diet

phrase·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ə ˈdaɪət/
US/ə ˈdaɪət/

Meanings

  1. phrasecountable

    a particular way of eating that someone chooses, often to lose weight or for health reasons.

    Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a diet', 'diets', or 'on a diet'; it names one plan among others.

    Patterns

    • be on a diet
    • go on a diet
    • start a diet
    • a strict diet

    She has been on a diet since January and has already lost four kilos.

    My doctor put me on a diet with less salt and more vegetables.

    He keeps starting a diet on Monday and giving up by Wednesday.

  2. phrasecountable

    the usual food and drink that a person or animal normally eats.

    Grammar: Used with 'a' when you describe one particular pattern of eating, often with a describing word before it.

    Patterns

    • a healthy diet
    • a balanced diet
    • a poor diet
    • a diet of something

    Children need a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and milk.

    A diet of fried food and sweet drinks is bad for your heart.

    The birds live on a diet of seeds and small insects.

Common combinations

a balanced diet
Doctors recommend a balanced diet rather than cutting out whole food groups.
go on a diet
She went on a diet before her sister's wedding.
a strict diet
Athletes often follow a strict diet during training.
a diet of something
The prisoners survived on a diet of bread and water.
put someone on a diet
The vet put our cat on a diet because it was too heavy.

Synonyms and how they differ

diet
Without 'a', 'diet' is uncountable and means the food someone eats in general, as in 'Diet affects health'; 'a diet' usually means one chosen plan.
eating plan
A neutral, modern term that avoids the weight-loss feel of 'a diet' and is common in health writing.
regime
Sounds formal and strict, often used for a fixed medical or training routine rather than everyday eating.

Word family

diet verb
to eat less or eat special food in order to lose weight
dieting noun
the activity of following a diet to lose weight
dieter noun
a person who is trying to lose weight by eating less
dietary adjective
relating to what someone eats, as in 'dietary needs'

Commonly confused: a diet or diet?

a diet vs diet

As a noun without an article, 'diet' means the food a group or person normally eats ('the Japanese diet'). 'A diet' almost always suggests a plan to lose weight or improve health.

Practice

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