Meaning & use
masticate
To chew food thoroughly with the teeth before swallowing it.
See it in a sentence
Dentists recommend that patients masticate slowly to aid digestion and avoid choking.
The old dog could barely masticate its food after losing several teeth.
A note on using this word
Masticate is a formal or scientific term; chew is the everyday word used in ordinary conversation.
Words with a similar meaning
chewgnaw
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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