ingest
Americanverb (used with object)
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to take, as food, into the body (egest ).
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Aeronautics. to draw (foreign matter) into the inlet of a jet engine, often causing damage to the engine.
verb
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to take (food or liquid) into the body
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(of a jet engine) to suck in (an object, a bird, etc)
Other Word Forms
- ingestible adjective
- ingestion noun
- ingestive adjective
- reingest verb (used with object)
- uningested adjective
- uningestive adjective
Etymology
Origin of ingest
First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin ingestus, past participle of ingerere “to throw or pour into”; in- 2, gest
Explanation
When you ingest something, you swallow it or otherwise consume it. If you don't ingest enough iron, you'll feel tired and weak and you'll look pale. Trees ingest carbon dioxide, and humans ingest the oxygen that trees in turn produce. We also ingest a lot of other things, like French fries, ice cream, and root beer. You can also use this word to mean "take in information," like when you ingest the details of your history book. Ingest has a Latin root, ingestus, "poured in," from in-, "into," and gerere, "to carry."
Vocabulary lists containing ingest
The Body Eclectic: Words For Common Physical Functions
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The Smartest Kid in the Universe
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Iveliz Explains It All
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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.
Panson said he expects AI agents to be able to ingest more information and take on audit tasks involving more judgment over time, while humans continue to provide oversight.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
This indicates that these birds not only ingest alcohol but process it in a way similar to mammals.
From Science Daily • Mar. 25, 2026
Many things that we can ingest in high doses in the short term can cause massive problems over time.
From Slate • Mar. 5, 2026
AI can’t be relied upon to ingest and properly classify data in more complex situations, such as if you have various types of income from, say, royalties, real estate rentals, a sole proprietorship or trusts.
From Barron's • Jan. 31, 2026
If you ingest too much swainsonine you are bound to starve, no matter how much food you put into your stomach.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
