masticate
To masticate is to chew your food or to bite and grind stuff with your teeth.
While humans use their teeth, primarily molars, to masticate their food, some animals have evolved other ways to do this. Some masticate by crushing food between hard plates on the top and bottom of their mouths, and others masticate by using a spiny tongue to break down their food.
Definitions of masticate
-
grind and knead
-
chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth
“The cows were
masticating the grass”
Word Family