Mastication (redirected from organ of mastication)

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.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

mastication - biting and grinding food in your mouth so it becomes soft enough to swallow chewing, manduction, chew change of state - the act of changing something into something different in essential characteristics chomping - the act of chewing noisily gumming, mumbling - ineffectual chewing (as if without teeth) rumination - (of ruminants) chewing (the cud); "ruminants have remarkable powers of rumination" eating, feeding - the act of consuming food