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# masticate

«masticate» in Mova's school dictionary: **to chew food so it is broken into small pieces before…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

verb (masticate, masticates, masticated, masticating)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (formal, science) To masticate is to chew food so it is broken into small pieces before swallowing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/masticate/#m1)

2) (technical) To masticate rubber is to soften it by crushing and kneading it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/masticate/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science lessons on digestion, mastication by the teeth is the first step: molars grind, incisors cut, saliva softens. In everyday talk it is a big, funny word for «chew». Phrases: «masticate your food», «mastication».

### examples

- Digestion starts when you masticate your food. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/masticate/#x1)
- The cow lay in the field slowly masticating grass. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/masticate/#x2)
- Molars help you masticate tough food. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/masticate/#x3)
- «Masticate thoroughly,» the doctor said, meaning «chew well». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/masticate/#x4)
- Cows masticate their food twice by chewing the cud. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/masticate/#x5)
- Mastication mixes food with saliva. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/masticate/#x6)

### note

Formal word; everyday word «chew». Noun «mastication». In everyday writing «chew» is clearer. Past form «masticated».

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «masticate» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/masticate/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.