ingest
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to take, as food, into the body (opposed to egest).
-
Aeronautics. to draw (foreign matter) into the inlet of a jet engine, often causing damage to the engine.
verb
-
to take (food or liquid) into the body
-
(of a jet engine) to suck in (an object, a bird, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
ingestionnoun
-
reingestverb (used with object)
-
ingestibleadjective
-
ingestiveadjective
-
uningestedadjective
-
uningestiveadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ingestsimple
-
ingestssimple
-
have ingestedperfect
-
has ingestedperfect
-
am ingestingprogressive
-
are ingestingprogressive
-
is ingestingprogressive
-
have been ingestingperfect progressive
-
has been ingestingperfect progressive
Past
-
ingestedsimple
-
had ingestedperfect
-
was ingestingprogressive
-
were ingestingprogressive
-
had been ingestingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ingest
First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin ingestus, past participle of ingerere “to throw or pour into”; see 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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Smartest Kid in the Universe
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Iveliz Explains It All
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Is it a problem if I accidentally ingest one of these guys?
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Lead is a potent neurotoxin that can stunt the brain development and lead to behavioral issues in young children that inhale or ingest it.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
The tools ingest historical crime data and score neighborhoods on predicted risk so officers can be routed toward the resulting hot spots.
From Salon ● May 12, 2026
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
She doesn’t say anything about how oatmeal raisin cookies are a missed opportunity to ingest chocolate or how long I just spent talking to Jonah or how I lost.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Everlab’s platform ingests and organizes documents and data from doctors, specialists and pathologists, compiling patient records that it augments with real-time data from users’ existing wearable devices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
The test told her she had contracted sapovirus, which occurs when one person ingests another’s fecal matter, most often via contaminated food.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2024
If a condor ingests too much shiny stuff and the digestive blockage grows too big, it dies.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 13, 2023
The reaction, called alpha-gal syndrome, occurs when an infected person eats beef, pork, venison or other meat from mammals — or ingests milk, gelatin or other mammal products.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
One ingests a horse-doctor's dose of words, but fails to acquire any illumination.
From A Book of Prefaces by Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis)
“We’ve probably ingested more third-party qualitative analysis in the last six weeks than we have in our entire history, combined,” Lambert said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
In the environment, microplastics can be ingested by fish and other wildlife, potentially moving up the food chain and eventually reaching humans.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 18, 2026
But its usage — both in food and beverage products, along with ingested drugs — prevailed for over three decades.
From Salon ● Apr. 11, 2026
For decades, however, people have been worrying that small doses of glyphosate ingested over the long term can cause cancer and other health issues.
From Slate ● Mar. 5, 2026
Sookie reached for Mr. Patterson’s drink, took a sip, and made a face like he had ingested a mouthful of motor oil.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
With AI both ingesting and producing seemingly endless volumes of data, demand for storage solutions has exploded over the past year.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
The book contains a frightening portrait of hyponatremia, which is a low level of sodium in the blood that can be triggered by ingesting too much water—a particular danger during endurance events.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
The second phase of the project addressed a straightforward but critical question: Are wild Belgica antarctica larvae already ingesting microplastics in their natural environment?
From Science Daily ● Feb. 16, 2026
Raducanu also addressed how "nervous" she feels about the risk of ingesting contaminated medicine, or even being deliberately targeted when eating in a restaurant.
From BBC ● May 6, 2025
The workers, who marked watch dials with luminous radium paint, customarily licked their brushes to a fine point, ingesting the radioactive substance.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
