masticate

mas·ti·cate  (mst-kt)

v. mas·ti·cat·ed, mas·ti·cat·ing, mas·ti·cates

v.tr.

1. To chew (food).

2. To grind and knead (rubber, for example) into a pulp.

v.intr.

To chew food.

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[Late Latin masticre, mastict-, to masticate, from Greek mastikhn, to grind the teeth.]

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masti·cation n.

masti·cator n.

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masticate

Verb

[-cating, -cated] to chew food [Greek mastikhan to grind the teeth]

mastication n

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	masticate - grind and knead; "masticate rubber" knead, work - make uniform; "knead dough"; "work the clay until it is soft"
	2.	masticate - chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth; "He jawed his bubble gum"; "Chew your food and don't swallow it!"; "The cows were masticating the grass" chew, manducate, jaw chomp, champ - chew noisily; "The boy chomped his sandwich" champ - chafe at the bit, like horses gum, mumble - grind with the gums; chew without teeth and with great difficulty; "the old man had no teeth left and mumbled his food" chaw - chew without swallowing; "chaw tobacco" munch, crunch - chew noisily; "The children crunched the celery sticks" grind, grate - make a grating or grinding sound by rubbing together; "grate one's teeth in anger" gnaw - bite or chew on with the teeth; "gnaw an old cracker"