Skip to main content
vitamin A

vitamin A

8 2.3
A substance in food that helps you see at night, keeps skin healthy, and helps the body fight infections
  • noun
  • /ˈvaɪtəmɪn eɪ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : vitamina A
  • A great source of fiber and bulk, carrots also provide 30 percent of the vitamin A consumed in the United States.
  • vitamin A supplementation
  • vitamin A deficiency
  • vitamin A intake

None of those things have any real vitamin A in them at all.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • A lack of vitamin A in a child's diet can lead to serious health issues.

  • Carrots are rich in vitamin A, which helps maintain good vision.

  • None of those things have any real vitamin A in them at all.

  • Found the first scientific evidence of the role vitamin A plays in maintaining sight.

    Academic text (2001)
  • About 100 million children suffer from vitamin A deficiency.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Children with vitamin A deficiency have a higher risk of dying of measles.

  • In developing countries, inadequate vitamin A leads to infectious diseases, blindness, and death for hundreds of thousands of children each year.

    Academic text (2003)
  • One medium sweet potato delivers 438% of your daily vitamin A in the form of beta carotene.

    Blog text (27)
  • You shouldn't intake a lot more than 10,000 IU of vitamin A when pregnant.

    Blog text (26)
  • Golden rice produces beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, in the edible part of the grain.

    Blog text (16)

Synonyms

A
vsvitamin A
  • Specialized
19 2.8

Vitamin needed for good vision and healthy skin

is defined by its essential roles in vision, immunity, and healthy skin
retinol
vsvitamin A
  • Specialized
2 6.6

A form of vitamin A that helps your sight and keeps skin healthy

is the wider category of the nutrient with roles beyond that single form
axerophthol
vsvitamin A
  • Archaic
9.9

A vitamin that helps you see and keeps skin healthy

is the general description of that vitamin's functions rather than this specific name
vitamin A1
vsvitamin A
  • Specialized
3.8

A vitamin found in fish liver oils that keeps eyes healthy

is the broader nutrient term covering all forms and their body functions

Surface Forms

vitamin A singular
vitamin As plural

Morphology

vitamin + A

The meaning is directly compositional: 'vitamin' (a nutrient) combined with the identifier 'A' names a specific vitamin. A B1 learner who knows 'vitamin' and that letters can label vitamin types can infer this refers to the particular vitamin associated with vision and health, a pattern common across languages.

Etymology

Vitamin A gets its name from early scientists who named important food substances with letters, and the first one they found was called A. They found Vitamin A in foods like liver and carrots and noticed it 'helps eyesight', so today the name means the vitamin needed for 'vision' and healthy skin.