Dictionary

masticate en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈmæstɪkeɪt/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Latin masticātus, perfect passive participle of masticō (“to chew”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Alternatively, back-formation from mastication, either ultimately from Ancient Greek μαστιχάω (mastikháō, “to grind the teeth”). Compare French mastiquer.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To chew (usually food).
   • The cow stood, quietly masticating its cud.
   • At the moment Carter snapped, a lunch break in J&M turned into a blood riot when half a dozen technicians dropped their snacks and began cannibalizing each other instead. In I&T, their opposite numbers began beating each other to death with keyboards, chairs, and even computer monitors while their Chief masticated her husband's digits. 2024 September 28, Harry Blank, “Not Ready for Prime Time”, in Deadlined, →ISBN, archived from the original on 03 Apr 2025, page 604:
   • He resumed his meal. "I had no idea of it," he said, and masticated. 1896, H. G. Wells, chapter 8, in The Island of Dr. Moreau:
   • "By tasting it, to be sure," said I, masticating a morsel that Kory-Kory had just put in my mouth. 1892, Herman Melville, chapter 12, in Typee: A Romance of the South Seas:
   • The vegetables were not to be cooked but merely grated fine, if I could not masticate them. 1927-1929, Mahatma Gandhi, translated by Mahadev Desai, An Autobiography or The Story of my Experiments with Truth, published 1940:
   • Several tasters noted the “overly sweet” coconut aroma, carrying through to a “too sweet” flavour and “too chewy” mouthfeel. One taster said that masticating the biscuit felt like “an intense workout”. 2023 April 22, Yvonne C. Lam, “Supermarket Anzac biscuit taste test: from ‘beautiful’ to ‘an intense workout’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 03 Aug 2023:
   • The fat boy rose, opened his eyes, swallowed the huge piece of pie he had been in the act of masticating when he last fell asleep, and slowly obeyed his master’s orders. 1832, Charles Dickens, chapter 4, in The Pickwick Papers:
   • The friends watch the two make their way between other habitués masticating, drinking, crouched in a scrum of conversation[…] 2001, Nadine Gordimer, The Pickup:
2. (transitive) To grind or knead something into a pulp.

Forms

Deriveds

masticable · masticator · premasticate · nonmasticating · unmasticated · remasticate

Relateds

mastic · masticatory · mastication · macerate

Translations (8)

mi kōrapu (to knead) · bar dabaazn (to knead) · ru месить (to knead) · sv knåda (to knead) · fi jauhaa (to knead) · fi soseuttaa (to knead) · is kremja í mauk (to knead) · is hnoða í mauk (to knead)