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# mastication

«mastication» in Mova's school dictionary: **Chewing: crushing food with the teeth so it can be…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (mastication — uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (formal, science) Chewing: crushing food with the teeth so it can be swallowed and digested. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mastication/#m1)

2) The process of chewing as the first stage of digestion. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mastication/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

Used in science lessons about digestion and teeth: digestion begins in the mouth with mastication and saliva. In everyday talk people simply say «chewing». Phrases: mastication of food, muscles of mastication.

### examples

- Digestion starts with mastication in the mouth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mastication/#x1)
- Mastication breaks food into small pieces. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mastication/#x2)
- Molars are the teeth used most for mastication. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mastication/#x3)
- Saliva mixes with the food during mastication. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mastication/#x4)
- Cows spend hours on mastication of grass. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mastication/#x5)
- Good mastication helps the stomach do its job. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mastication/#x6)
- The jaw muscles control mastication. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mastication/#x7)

### note

Uncountable. Very formal/scientific; in speech say «chewing». Verb: masticate (formal for chew). Do not confuse with words that look a little similar but mean other things.

### Trees and pragmatics

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