masticate

(măs'tĭ-kāt')

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.

View more Health videos

verb

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

IN BRIEF: To chew with the teeth.

Masticate the food well before swallowing.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

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.

v

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

For a list of words related to masticate, see:

• Eating Verbs - masticate: chew

---

See words rhyming with "masticate."