| Library / English Dictionary |
MASTICATION
| 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 ("mastication" 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 "mastication"):
chomping (the act of chewing noisily)
gumming; mumbling (ineffectual chewing (as if without teeth))
rumination ((of ruminants) chewing (the cud))
Holonyms ("mastication" is a part of...):
eating; feeding (the act of consuming food)
Derivation:
masticate (chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth)
