ruminate
Americanverb (used without object)
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ruminates,
present (3rd person singular)
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ruminated,
past participle, past
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ruminating
present participle
verb (used with object)
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ruminates,
present (3rd person singular)
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ruminated,
past participle, past
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ruminating
present participle
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to chew again or over and over.
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to meditate on; ponder.
verb
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(of ruminants) to chew (the cud)
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to meditate or ponder (upon)
Usage
What does ruminate mean? To ruminate is to carefully think something over, ponder it, or meditate on it. It can also mean to chew over and over again, as is done by ruminant animals, like cows. In psychology, the term means to obsessively repeat thoughts or excessively think about problems. In all cases, the process of ruminating is called rumination. Example: After ruminating about it for months, I have decided to pursue a new career.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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ruminationnoun
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ruminatornoun
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nonruminatingadjective
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nonruminativeadjective
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ruminativeadjective
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unruminatedadjective
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unruminatingadjective
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unruminativeadjective
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nonruminatinglyadverb
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ruminatinglyadverb
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ruminativelyadverb
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unruminatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ruminatesimple
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ruminatessimple
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have ruminatedperfect
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has ruminatedperfect
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am ruminatingprogressive
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are ruminatingprogressive
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is ruminatingprogressive
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have been ruminatingperfect progressive
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has been ruminatingperfect progressive
Past
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ruminatedsimple
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had ruminatedperfect
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was ruminatingprogressive
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were ruminatingprogressive
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had been ruminatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ruminate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin rūminātus (past participle of rūminārī, rūmināre “to ruminate”), equivalent to rūmin- (stem of rūmen “throat, gullet”; see rumen) + -ātus past participle suffix ( see -ate 1)
Explanation
When you ruminate, it means you are thinking very deeply about something. You're likely to be so lost in thought that you stare off into space and don't hear people when they call your name. Another meaning of ruminate is to "chew the cud," which can mean "to turn it over and over in your mind." Or, if you're a cow, to turn food over and over in your stomachs in order to digest it. Whether you're a human or a cow, if you ruminate, it will take a LONG time.
Vocabulary lists containing ruminate
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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.
See Examples For:
This leaves investors and analysts to ruminate amongst themselves.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
"It's the gift we give to an audience, it's just to ruminate on that very serious subject, antisemitism, cruelty of all kinds, hatred of the other," Lithgow said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
“I try not to ruminate on the past but look to the future,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026
After Eva and Ryland briefly ruminate on fear and primal instinct, Ryland’s otherwise direct and unemotional government superior takes to the mic, performing a cover of Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times.”
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026
He indicated the reclining ersatz animal, which continued to ruminate attentively, still watching alertly for any indication of oats.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
From this place of old age and treatable illness, Julian ruminates on the fallible nature of memory and its role in shaping our identities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
Still, associating too much with the self has been linked to psychiatric disorders like depression, where the mind ruminates on the self and the body can become oppressive.
From Salon ● May 26, 2025
“Carmen Argote: I won’t abandon you, I see you, we are safe,” the artist’s show at ICA LA, ruminates on the connective tissue between generations.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2025
As he writes, he ruminates on his mother in a voice-over.
From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2024
After a scientific expedition to America, Aronnax ruminates over the true nature of the incidents.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
It’s hard to believe Mr. Smith hasn’t ruminated more seriously on what he might have done differently, and maybe he’ll share that someday in a forum other than a House interrogation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
He ruminated for weeks on how to define his philosophy as a coach and his methodology.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2025
Models ruminated about their next plate of pasta, distracted themselves from inopportune itches, and wondered over the sense of fashion amid wars.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 23, 2024
However, when the reindeer ruminated, this slow-wave activity was decreased during subsequent sleep, and the more they ruminated, the more the slow-wave activity decreased.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 22, 2023
"Job ought to be easy enough," he ruminated.
From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
Hill had been ruminating about a tell-all book from the early stages of the trial, a clerk from a neighboring county who’d assisted her testified at an evidentiary hearing on the jury-tampering complaint.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026
That picture is complex, but ruminating on your actions can quickly become torturous.
From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2026
Of course, some anger and frustration will come out during these talks, but long-term wallowing and ruminating on perceived unfairness can be more damaging than the layoff itself.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 2, 2026
"There is never a moment when you aren't ruminating or reflecting or considering school-related issues," she said.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
He spent the whole evening absorbed in thought, ruminating on the story of the fox and the hens, and perhaps that was the night the boy began to become a man.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
