digestion

American  

[dih-jes-chuhn, dahy-] / dɪˈdʒɛs tʃən, daɪ- /

noun

1. the process in the alimentary canal by which food is broken up physically, as by the action of the teeth, and chemically, as by the action of enzymes, and converted into a substance suitable for absorption and assimilation into the body.

2. the function or power of digesting food.

   My digestion is bad.

3. the act of digesting or the state of being digested.

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digestion British  

/ dɪˈdʒɛstʃən, daɪ- /

noun

1. the act or process in living organisms of breaking down ingested food material into easily absorbed and assimilated substances by the action of enzymes and other agents

2. mental assimilation, esp of ideas

3. bacteriol the decomposition of sewage by the action of bacteria

4. chem the treatment of material with heat, solvents, chemicals, etc, to cause softening or decomposition

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digestion Scientific  

/ dī-jĕs′chən /

1. The process by which food is broken down into simple chemical compounds that can be absorbed and used as nutrients or eliminated by the body. In most animals, nutrients are obtained from food by the action of digestive enzymes. In humans and other higher vertebrates, digestion takes place mainly in the small intestine. In protists and some invertebrates, digestion occurs by phagocytosis.

2. The decomposition of organic material, such as sewage, by bacteria.

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digestion Cultural  

1. The breaking down of food, which is made up of complex organic molecules (see also organic molecule), into smaller molecules that the body can absorb and use for maintenance and growth.

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Other Word Forms

• digestional
  adjective
• nondigestion
  noun
• redigestion
  noun
• self-digestion
  noun

Etymology

Origin of digestion

1350–1400; Middle English digestioun < Anglo-French, Middle French < Latin dīgestiōn- (stem of dīgestiō ), equivalent to dīgest ( us ) ( see digest) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

Digestion is the process your body goes through to break the food you eat into substances that it can absorb and use. Chewing is an important first step in digestion, because your teeth make food small enough to swallow. Your digestion isn't usually something you spend much time thinking about, unless you eat something that upsets your digestion — then the process can be uncomfortable. You can also describe the breakdown of other types of material — when it's exposed to chemicals or bacteria, for example — as digestion. A figurative kind of digestion happens when you think through complicated information and begin to make sense of it all.

Example Sentences

Symptoms of oesophageal cancer can affect your digestion, but they might be hard to spot, such as:

From BBC • May 19, 2026

Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes are all good sources of fiber, an important nutrient with extensive health benefits, such as supporting a healthy gut microbiome, regulating blood sugar and keeping digestion regular.

From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026

Freidenberg described what happened to her body as she starved, including her loss of hips and breasts and the ways in which her digestion and other bodily processes changed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

The digestion since 2022 was preceded by a firm uptrend dating to 2017, which bodes well:

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

“My digestion has been destroyed. I think that I am beginning to bloat!”

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

Related Words

• absorption
• metabolism