digest

[verb dih-jest, dahy-; noun dahy-jest]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR digest ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

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

to promote the digestion of (food).

to obtain information, ideas, or principles from; assimilate mentally: to digest a pamphlet on nuclear waste.

to arrange methodically in the mind; think over: to digest a plan.

to bear with patience; endure.

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

to condense, abridge, or summarize.

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

verb (used without object)

to digest food.

to undergo digestion, as food.

noun

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

Law.

a systematic abstract of some body of law.
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.

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

Origin of digest

1350–1400; (v.) Middle English digesten < 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 < Late Latin dīgesta (plural), Latin: collection of writings, neuter plural of dīgestus, as above

Related formsdi·gest·ed·ly, adverbdi·gest·ed·ness, nounhalf-di·gest·ed, adjectivenon·di·gest·ing, adjectiveo·ver·di·gest, verbre·di·gest, verb (used with object)sem·i·di·gest·ed, adjectiveun·di·gest·ed, adjectiveun·di·gest·ing, adjectivewell-di·gest·ed, adjective

Synonyms for digest

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR digest ON THESAURUS.COM

4. understand; study, ponder. 6. systematize, codify. 11. epitome, abridgment. See summary.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for digest

compendium, sketch, condensation, abstract, brief, summary, syllabus, synopsis, survey, epitome, incorporate, consume, absorb, eat, take, macerate, swallow, dissolve, trim, systematize

Examples from the Web for digest

Contemporary Examples of digest

Warfighting, its authors freely admitted, was essentially On War in digest form.
How Clausewitz Invented Modern War
James A. Warren
November 24, 2014
It is this kind of abortion narrative that is easiest for people to digest, and there are many cases like this.
Wendy Davis and the 'Good Abortion' Myth
Emily Shire
September 10, 2014
Before you invoke images of a nation enjoying more indolence than industry, there is an uncomfortable statistic to digest.
Obama’s Extravagant Summer Break? More Like, America’s Vacation-Deficit Disorder
Clive Irving
August 10, 2014
Food intolerance occurs when your body is unable to digest a certain component of a food, such as the protein called gluten.
10 Reasons You’re Exhausted and What to Do About It
DailyBurn
April 25, 2014
Foods, wines are categorized as “digest” or “pas digest,” as in easy or difficult to digest.
Yes, Women Can Make Great Wine
Jordan Salcito
March 22, 2014

Historical Examples of digest

As to their clients, that is another thing; God knows they have much to digest!
The Letters of Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Well, great masters, if you swallow me, you may not digest me.
Diary from November 12, 1862, to October 18, 1863
Adam Gurowski
O, worshippers of heavy incapacity, take and digest it if you can.
Diary from November 12, 1862, to October 18, 1863
Adam Gurowski
It cannot digest itself; it cannot of its own accord turn into bone and muscle and blood.
The Child and the Curriculum
John Dewey
A pint a day was his daily ration, the only nourishment he could digest.
L'Assommoir
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for digest

digest

verb (dɪˈdʒɛst, daɪ-)

to subject (food) to a process of digestion

(tr) to assimilate mentally

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

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

(tr) to reduce to a summary

(tr) archaic to tolerate

noun (ˈdaɪdʒɛst)

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

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

a compilation of rules of law based on decided cases

Word Origin for digest

C14: from Late Latin dīgesta writings grouped under various heads, from Latin dīgerere to divide, from di- apart + gerere to bear

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

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

Word Origin and History for digest

"collection of writing," late 14c., from Latin digesta, from neuter plural of digestus, literally "digested thing," noun use of past participle of digerere "to separate, divide, arrange," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + gerere "to carry" (see gest).

"assimilate food in bowels," late 14c., from Latin digestus (see digest (n.)). Related: Digested; digesting.

digest in Medicine

digest

[dī-jĕst′, dĭ-]

v.

To convert food into simpler chemical compounds that can be absorbed and assimilated by the body, as by chemical and muscular action in the alimentary canal.

To soften or disintegrate by means of chemical action, heat, or moisture.

Related formsdi•gest′i•bil′i•ty n.di•gest′i•ble adj.