ingredient in WordNet English dictionary

1. an abstract part of something
   "jealousy was a component of his character"; "two constituents of a musical composition are melody and harmony"; "the grammatical elements of a sentence"; "a key factor in her success"; "humor: an effective ingredient of a speech"
   component  constituent  element  factor  ingredient 
   
2. food that is a component of a mixture in cooking
   "the recipe lists all the fixings for a salad"
   ingredient  fixings 
   
3. a component of a mixture or compound
   ingredient