noun
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the coarse indigestible constituents of food or fodder, which provide bulk to the diet and promote normal bowel function See also dietary fibre
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any rough or coarse material
Etymology
Origin of roughage
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.
The effects of fibre were first discovered in the 1970s, when it was believed that fibre was just "hard roughage stuff" that helped our bodies get rid of waste, explains Whelan.
From BBC • Jan. 16, 2026
Awards season always brings a parade of Very Important Cinema to theaters, most of which have the appeal of roughage.
From Salon • Nov. 22, 2024
They eat a lot of plant material and roughage.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
His diet includes mostly carbohydrates, "nightshade" vegetables, MSG, and coffee, for legumes, whole grains, roughage, and a small percent of lean meat.
From Fox News • Jan. 27, 2021
By roughness, or roughage, of course you understand that bulky food, like hay, grass, clover, stover, etc., is meant.
From Agriculture for Beginners Revised Edition by Burkett, Charles William
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.
