Synonyms

ingest

American

[in-jest] / ɪnˈdʒɛst /

verb (used with object)

to take, as food, into the body (egest ).
Aeronautics. to draw (foreign matter) into the inlet of a jet engine, often causing damage to the engine.

ingest British

/ ɪnˈdʒɛst /

verb

to take (food or liquid) into the body
(of a jet engine) to suck in (an object, a bird, etc)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

ingestible adjective
ingestion noun
ingestive adjective
reingest verb (used with object)
uningested adjective
uningestive adjective

Etymology

Origin of ingest

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin ingestus, past participle of ingerere “to throw or pour into”; in- ², gest

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This indicates that these birds not only ingest alcohol but process it in a way similar to mammals.

From Science Daily • Mar. 25, 2026

People who eat lots of high-glyphosate foods may ingest up to 0.001 grams.

From Slate • Mar. 5, 2026

AI can’t be relied upon to ingest and properly classify data in more complex situations, such as if you have various types of income from, say, royalties, real estate rentals, a sole proprietorship or trusts.

From Barron's • Jan. 31, 2026

Transmission most often occurs when people or pets ingest food or water contaminated with raccoon feces.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2026

That’s a real family-thing to do, to ingest somebody else’s backwash.

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023