masticate

v., -cat·ed, -cat·ing, -cates.

v.tr.

1. To chew (food).
2. To grind and knead (rubber, for example) into a pulp.

v.intr.

To chew food.

[Late Latin masticāre, masticāt-, to masticate, from Greek mastikhān, to grind the teeth.]

mastication mas'ti·ca'tion n.
masticator mas'ti·ca'tor n.

verb

To bite and grind with the teeth: champ, chew, chomp, chump², crump, crunch, munch. Regional chaw. See mouth.

v

1. to grind or crush food with the teeth to prepare it for swallowing and digestion. v 2. to chew.

The act of chewing. Abnormalities of this function commonly occur and often have diagnostic significance. Painful teeth may cause slow, intermittent or one-sided eating. Dropping of the food from the mouth during eating may have a similar cause. Periodic stopping eating for long periods when there is food in the mouth is a common sign in encephalitis and encephalopathy. See also cud dropping, quidding, tobacco-chewers.

IN BRIEF: To chew with the teeth.

Masticate the food well before swallowing.