regurgitate
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
-
to cause to surge or rush back; vomit.
-
to give back or repeat, especially something not fully understood or assimilated.
to regurgitate the teacher's lectures on the exam.
verb
-
to vomit forth (partially digested food)
-
(of some birds and certain other animals) to bring back to the mouth (undigested or partly digested food with which to feed the young)
-
(intr) to be cast up or out, esp from the mouth
-
(intr) med (of blood) to flow backwards, in a direction opposite to the normal one, esp through a defective heart valve
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
regurgitatesimple
-
regurgitatessimple
-
have regurgitatedperfect
-
has regurgitatedperfect
-
am regurgitatingprogressive
-
are regurgitatingprogressive
-
is regurgitatingprogressive
-
have been regurgitatingperfect progressive
-
has been regurgitatingperfect progressive
Past
-
regurgitatedsimple
-
had regurgitatedperfect
-
was regurgitatingprogressive
-
were regurgitatingprogressive
-
had been regurgitatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of regurgitate
1645–55; < Medieval Latin regurgitātus (past participle of regurgitāre ), equivalent to re- re- + gurgit-, stem of gurges whirlpool, flood, stream + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To regurgitate is to bring already swallowed food back up through one's throat and out the mouth. Not so nice in humans, but much more understandable (if still gross) in birds — who feed their baby chicks by regurgitating. Finished cramming for your exam? Ready to do a data dump? Then you're about to regurgitate all you've learned — repeat information verbatim without any real understanding or analysis of it. Don't worry, everyone does it, from high school and college students, to grown-ups in corporate boardrooms.
Vocabulary lists containing regurgitate
Freak the Mighty
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 Stars Beneath Our Feet
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!
The Hot Zone
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.
Several exhibitors regurgitate the ideas of other, better-known artists.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
Traditional media face threats from chatbots and Google's AI overviews, which regurgitate content without users visiting original sites, eroding traffic and revenue.
From Barron's • Nov. 26, 2025
“I just like to soak it in and regurgitate it in my own demented way,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 29, 2025
They’re not trying to build anything new, they’re trying to steal from the past to regurgitate something to sell it to you based on your goodwill feelings from that time.
From Salon • Feb. 24, 2025
Falcons, hawks, and owls swallow fur, bones, and feathers as well as meat, then regurgitate, or “cast,” the unused parts in tidy pellets.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
