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• digest
  digest

  verb (used with object)

  to convert (food) in the alimentary canal into absorbable form for assimilation into the system.
• Digest
  Digest

  noun

  Roman law an arrangement of excerpts from the writings and opinions of eminent lawyers, contained in 50 books compiled by order of Justinian in the sixth century _ad

digest

American  

[dih-jest, dahy-, dahy-jest] / dɪˈdʒɛst, daɪ-, ˈdaɪ dʒɛst /

verb (used with object)

• digests,
  present (3rd person singular)
• digested,
  past participle,  past
• digesting
  present participle

1. to convert (food) in the alimentary canal into absorbable form for assimilation into the system.

2. to promote the digestion of (food).

3. to obtain information, ideas, or principles from; assimilate mentally.

   to digest a pamphlet on nuclear waste.

4. to arrange methodically in the mind; think over.

   to digest a plan.

   Synonyms:

   ponder, study, understand

5. to bear with patience; endure.

6. to arrange in convenient or methodical order; reduce to a system; classify.

   Synonyms:

   codify, systematize

7. to condense, abridge, or summarize.

8. Chemistry. to soften or disintegrate (a substance) by means of moisture, heat, chemical action, or the like.

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verb (used without object)

• digests,
  present (3rd person singular)
• digested,
  past participle,  past
• digesting
  present participle

1. to digest food.

2. to undergo digestion, as food.

noun

• digests
  plural

1. a collection or compendium, usually of literary, historical, legal, or scientific matter, especially when classified or condensed.

   Synonyms:

   abridgment, epitome

2. Law.

   1. a systematic abstract of some body of law.

   2. the Digest, a collection in fifty books of excerpts, especially from the writings of the Classical Roman jurists, compiled by order of Justinian in the 6th century a.d.; the Pandects.

3. Biochemistry. the product of the action of an enzyme on food or other organic material.

digest ¹ British  

verb

1. to subject (food) to a process of digestion

2. (tr) to assimilate mentally

3. chem to soften or disintegrate or be softened or disintegrated by the action of heat, moisture, or chemicals; decompose

4. (tr) to arrange in a methodical or systematic order; classify

5. (tr) to reduce to a summary

6. archaic (tr) to tolerate

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noun

1. a comprehensive and systematic compilation of information or material, often condensed

2. a magazine, periodical, etc, that summarizes news of current events

3. a compilation of rules of law based on decided cases

Digest ² British  

/ ˈdaɪdʒɛst /

noun

1. Roman law an arrangement of excerpts from the writings and opinions of eminent lawyers, contained in 50 books compiled by order of Justinian in the sixth century _ad

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Usage

What does inventory mean? An inventory is a complete list of all merchandise or stock of items owned by or available from a business. At a store, an inventory is the complete list of all items for sale at the store. At a manufacturer, an inventory is a complete list of all the raw materials they have, as well as finished items and items being created. An inventory is also the specific set of products to sell, as in The store’s inventory of superhero capes is running low and will probably sell out soon. An inventory can also refer to figurative belongings, such as a person’s personality traits and skills. To inventory means to add things to an inventory list, whether a literal or figurative list, as in I inventoried my options for colleges and chose the school I’ll attend next year. Example: Can you take inventory tonight so we can be ready for the rush tomorrow?

Synonym Usage

See summary.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• digestedness
  noun
• overdigest
  verb
• redigest
  verb (used with object)
• half-digested
  adjective
• nondigesting
  adjective
• semidigested
  adjective
• undigested
  adjective
• undigesting
  adjective
• well-digested
  adjective
• digestedly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• digests
  plural

Participles

• digesting
  present
• digested
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• digest
  simple
• digests
  simple
• have digested
  perfect
• has digested
  perfect
• am digesting
  progressive
• are digesting
  progressive
• is digesting
  progressive
• have been digesting
  perfect progressive
• has been digesting
  perfect progressive

Past

• digested
  simple
• had digested
  perfect
• was digesting
  progressive
• were digesting
  progressive
• had been digesting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will digest
  simple
• will have digested
  perfect
• will be digesting
  progressive
• will have been digesting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of digest

First recorded in 1350–1400; (verb) Middle English digesten, from Latin dīgestus “separated, dissolved” (past participle of dīgerere ), equivalent to dī- di- ² + ges- “carry, bear” (base of gerere ) + -tus past participle suffix; (noun) Middle English: “collection of laws,” from Late Latin dīgesta (plural), Latin: “collection of writings,” neuter plural of dīgestus, as above

Explanation

When your stomach breaks down food, it digests it. To digest is to process food so it can be absorbed into the body or information so the mind can absorb it. If you tell your mother some bad news, like say, that you failed your math test after studying so hard, she might say, "Let me take a moment to digest that information." She's not going to swallow the paper and let her stomach do the work. Instead, she's going to take a moment to sit with the news and understand it. As a noun, a digest is a magazine that breaks down information into understandable summaries.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

digest Digest digests digested digesting

Markets have had a mixed reaction to the moves, with long-term US bond yields touching multi-decade highs as investors digest having less data on how the Fed will make monetary policy.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Gut bacteria create these compounds when they digest the amino acids tyrosine and phenylalanine, but the resulting metabolites can have very different effects on health.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026

“We need time to digest what happened,” the priest said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The San Jose, California-based company’s stock is up about 9% in premarket trading as investors digest its profitability trajectory.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

When I get the cows and chickens back in, I can give him fresh milk and eggs to eat; they are nourishing and easy to digest.

From "Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O’Brien

“We discussed what was off-limits and what wasn’t,” says Beracasa Beckman, whose home was also featured in Architectural Digest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Asked to comment on the allegations, which were first reported in Golf Digest, BBC Sport received a statement from the club.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

He named it Avalon after the storybook world of King Arthur, he told Architectural Digest in 2004.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

Speaking to Architectural Digest in 2024, Grede and her spouse explained that they fell in love with the beachfront property as soon as they saw it.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 27, 2026

Wednesday shrugged, and picked up an old copy of the Reader’s Digest from a small pile of yellowing magazines on the windowsill.

From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman

As the stock market digests SpaceX’s mega-IPO, investors would do well to remember that bigger is not necessarily better.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026

The tepid outlook "indicates that earnings will likely remain stagnant or decline slightly as the company digests the Metsera deal and ramps up R&D," Briefing.com said in its note.

From Barron's ● Dec. 16, 2025

U.S. natural gas futures sink for a second straight session as the market digests a less drastic view of coming weather.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025

Meaning "big eater" in Greek, this immune cell consumes and digests problematic elements from microbes and cancer cells to dust and debris.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 8, 2024

The Word sucks up Cannery Row, digests it and spews it out, and the Row has taken the shimmer of the green world and the sky-reflecting seas.

From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck

Sterling turned lower against the euro as investors digested initial measures under the new U.K.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

They are digested quickly and can produce sharp increases in blood sugar.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026

Market reaction: Stocks were mixed in premarket trading after investors digested the CPI report with one eye, while keep the other on Warsh’s congressional testimony with the other.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

Treasurys fell off, sending yields higher as investors digested a busy day of U.S. economic indicators and comments from Fed chairman Kevin Warsh ahead of Thursday’s payrolls report.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

They were being weaned from mother’s milk to well-chewed and partially digested food.

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

The researchers also investigated genes involved in digesting the chitin found in insect exoskeletons.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

The reality, though, is that simply by eating and digesting protein, our bodies produce more heat than other food groups.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

There’s been a general trend of profit-taking, he said, as investors are digesting the magnitude and timing of returns on elevated artificial-intelligence spending.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who has been bullish on SpaceX stock, said the market is digesting “massive debt and equity raises from Big Tech players” in the coming years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026

And while Americans were still digesting these worrisome assessments, out of the Middle East came the first sketchy reports of Egyptian troops massing on the Israeli border.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson