Library / English Dictionary

CHEWING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Biting and grinding food in your mouth so it becomes soft enough to swallow

Synonyms:

chew; chewing; manduction; mastication

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("chewing" is a kind of...):

change of state (the act of changing something into something different in essential characteristics)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chewing"):

chomping (the act of chewing noisily)

gumming; mumbling (ineffectual chewing (as if without teeth))

rumination ((of ruminants) chewing (the cud))

Holonyms ("chewing" is a part of...):

eating; feeding (the act of consuming food)

Derivation:

chew (chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

-ing form of the verb chew

Credits

 Context examples: 

They may also have problems such as depression, sleep problems, or trouble chewing, swallowing, or speaking.

(Parkinson's Disease, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Tobacco (smoking and chewing) and alcohol may increase the risk of erythroleukoplakia.

(Erythroleukoplakia, NCI Dictionary)

And the flap has been gummed, if I am not very much in error, by a person who had been chewing tobacco.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Symptoms include muscle twitching, weakness, stiffness, and cramping; increased skin temperature, sweating, and heart rate; and problems with chewing, swallowing, speech, and breathing.

(Isaac syndrome, NCI Dictionary)

The latter two areas may be concerned with taste, anorexia, cachexia, and difficulties in chewing or swallowing.

(Nutrition, Other, NCI Thesaurus)

Signs and symptoms include mucosal ulceration, pain, bleeding, weight loss, neck swelling, and difficulty speaking, chewing, and swallowing.

(Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

It is associated with betel quid chewing, a habit practiced in Southeast Asia and India.

(Oral Cavity Submucous Fibrosis, NCI Thesaurus)

Chewing tobacco use may also cause gum disease, heart disease, stroke, and other health problems.

(Chewing tobacco, NCI Dictionary)

These differences are likely related to the hardness and fracture properties of the almond and the degree of structural breakdown during processing and chewing.

(Going Nuts Over Calories, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

Vintana's skull has an unusual shape, with deep, huge eye sockets, and long, scimitar-shaped flanges for attachment of massive chewing muscles.

(Scientists discover fossil of bizarre groundhog-like mammal on Madagascar, NSF)