cud
Americannoun
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cuds
plural
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the portion of food that a ruminant returns from the first stomach to the mouth to chew a second time.
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Dialect. quid.
idioms
noun
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partially digested food regurgitated from the first stomach of cattle and other ruminants to the mouth for a second chewing
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to reflect or think over something
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cud
before 1000; Middle English; Old English cudu, variant of cwiodu, cwidu; akin to Old High German quiti glue, Sanskrit jatu resin, gum. See quid 1
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:
She said it was "so lovely that anybody would bother to come up and chew the cud with you for a while"
From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2026
As with most ruminants, cattle make the most of a paltry diet, converting cud, grains, and crop waste into muscle and milk.
From Scientific American ● Nov. 7, 2023
As with most ruminants, cattle make the most of a paltry diet, converting cud, grains and crop waste into muscle and milk.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2023
They also spent more time lounging around the barn as they chewed their cud and ruminated the universe.
From New York Times ● Nov. 16, 2022
They chew their cud and moo into their phones until the herd shifts gears and rolls forward again.
From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson
These chewed-over cuds matter less than it might seem.
From New York Times ● Mar. 19, 2010
Last week Molly Lewis, 15, and her daughter, 7, chewed their cuds as placidly as usual but the rest of the Gibson estate was in commotion.
From Time Magazine Archive
Black-and-white Holsteins chew their cuds in a lazy rhythm.
From Time Magazine Archive
He says too there are a good many bulls still in the ring who seem to have lost their cuds.
From Time Magazine Archive
In the evenings they waited for him, chewing their cuds by the shed door, and the mule stood by the gate with blind marble eyes.
From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
