MASTICATION

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Meaning:

Biting and grinding food in your mouth so it becomes soft enough to swallow

Synonyms:

chew; chewing; manduction; mastication

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("mastication" is a kind of...):

change of state (the act of changing something into something different in essential characteristics)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mastication"):

chomping (the act of chewing noisily)

gumming; mumbling (ineffectual chewing (as if without teeth))

rumination ((of ruminants) chewing (the cud))

Holonyms ("mastication" is a part of...):

eating; feeding (the act of consuming food)

Derivation:

masticate (chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth)