mastication

American  

[mas-ti-key-shuhn] / ˌmæs tɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of chewing.

   Limited ability to open the mouth may make proper mastication of food more difficult.

2. the act or process of grinding, shredding, crushing, or kneading to a pulp: A machine with two horizontal rolls revolving in opposite directions is used for the mastication of rubber.

   In the office he could hear the soft chatter of people on their phones, the steely mastication of a paper shredder, the thwack of a coffee mug being set down.

   A machine with two horizontal rolls revolving in opposite directions is used for the mastication of rubber.

3. Forestry. the act or process of grinding up small trees and brush in a forest in order to thin it out or reduce the fuel available to forest fires.

   The remains of mastication and chipping are left on the forest floor, forming a mulch to protect the soil from compaction and erosion.

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Usage

What does mastication mean? Mastication is a technical word for the act of chewing. Mastication is the noun form of the verb masticate, meaning to chew or, less commonly, to reduce to a pulp by crushing or kneading, as is done in the rubber-making process. Mastication is almost always used in a scientific or technical context. In the everyday context of eating, people usually just say chewing. Example: Saliva is released from glands under the tongue to aid in the process of  mastication.

Other Word Forms

• remastication
  noun

Etymology

Origin of mastication

First recorded in 1400–50; from Late Latin masticātiōn-, stem of masticātiō “act of chewing,” equivalent to Latin masticāre + iō -ion ( def. ); see masticate ( def. )

Example Sentences

Mastication also stimulates the flow of the gastric juice, and this flow is greater if we enjoy what we eat.

From The Prospective Mother, a Handbook for Women During Pregnancy by Slemons, J. Morris (Josiah Morris)

Mastication helps digestion; it also prevents nasal troubles.

From Epilepsy, Hysteria, and Neurasthenia Their Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment by Briggs, Isaac George

Mastication need not be slow to be thorough, although there is an impression to that effect, for, as a matter of fact, quick and vigorous chewing excites the salivary glands to more energetic action.

From The Royal Road to Health by Tyrrell, Charles Alfred

Mastication and insalivation, which are largely mechanical, prepare the food for certain chemical processes by which it is dissolved.

From Physiology and Hygiene for Secondary Schools by Walters, Francis M.

Mastication means a thorough breaking up of the food into the smallest particles, and insalivation means the mixing of the small particles with the saliva.

From No Animal Food and Nutrition and Diet with Vegetable Recipes by Wheldon, Rupert H.