Synonyms

ruminate

American

[roo-muh-nayt] / ˈru məˌneɪt /

verb (used without object)

to meditate or muse; ponder.

Synonyms:

reflect, think
Psychology. to obsessively revisit the same thought or theme over and over again.
to chew the cud, as a ruminant.

verb (used with object)

to chew again or over and over.
to meditate on; ponder.

ruminate British

/ ˈruːmɪˌneɪt /

verb

(of ruminants) to chew (the cud)
to meditate or ponder (upon)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What does ruminate mean? To ruminate is to carefully think something over, ponder it, or meditate on it. It can also mean to chew over and over again, as is done by ruminant animals, like cows. In psychology, the term means to obsessively repeat thoughts or excessively think about problems. In all cases, the process of ruminating is called rumination. Example: After ruminating about it for months, I have decided to pursue a new career.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of ruminate

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin rūminātus (past participle of rūminārī, rūmināre “to ruminate”), equivalent to rūmin- (stem of rūmen “throat, gullet”; see rumen) + -ātus past participle suffix ( see -ate ¹)

Explanation

When you ruminate, it means you are thinking very deeply about something. You're likely to be so lost in thought that you stare off into space and don't hear people when they call your name. Another meaning of ruminate is to "chew the cud," which can mean "to turn it over and over in your mind." Or, if you're a cow, to turn food over and over in your stomachs in order to digest it. Whether you're a human or a cow, if you ruminate, it will take a LONG time.

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Vocabulary lists containing ruminate

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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.

See Examples For:

ruminate ruminates ruminated ruminating

This leaves investors and analysts to ruminate amongst themselves.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026

When your mind wanders, whether to rehearse a future argument or ruminate over what you said Friday night, you’re meant to note it, lightly and without judgment: “thinking” or “planning.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

"It's the gift we give to an audience, it's just to ruminate on that very serious subject, antisemitism, cruelty of all kinds, hatred of the other," Lithgow said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026

After thinking a young girl's outfit in an airport was inappropriate, she started to ruminate over why those beliefs appeared in the first place.

From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026

So he left and wandered, delighting in the freedom of Northern Italy, where he could ruminate on matters remote from the subjects he had been force-fed in his highly disciplined Prussian schoolroom.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

It’s no surprise that a show that draws its name from a story of environmental disaster ruminates on death.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Bruce ruminates over Flannery O’Connor stories and Terrence Malick’s 1973 crime drama “Badlands,” which he happens upon while channel surfing one night.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2025

Still, associating too much with the self has been linked to psychiatric disorders like depression, where the mind ruminates on the self and the body can become oppressive.

From Salon ● May 26, 2025

As he writes, he ruminates on his mother in a voice-over.

From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2024

After a scientific expedition to America, Aronnax ruminates over the true nature of the incidents.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

It’s hard to believe Mr. Smith hasn’t ruminated more seriously on what he might have done differently, and maybe he’ll share that someday in a forum other than a House interrogation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026

He ruminated for weeks on how to define his philosophy as a coach and his methodology.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2025

However, when the reindeer ruminated, this slow-wave activity was decreased during subsequent sleep, and the more they ruminated, the more the slow-wave activity decreased.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 22, 2023

He also ruminated openly about her political future, privately boosting McCray for a potential campaign for Brooklyn borough president.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 5, 2023

"Job ought to be easy enough," he ruminated.

From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie

Hill had been ruminating about a tell-all book from the early stages of the trial, a clerk from a neighboring county who’d assisted her testified at an evidentiary hearing on the jury-tampering complaint.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026

“Musica mexicana has always been there, will always be there and we are going to keep uplifting it,” said the Chihuahua-born singer ahead of his performance, ruminating on what he brought to the genre.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026

That picture is complex, but ruminating on your actions can quickly become torturous.

From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2026

Of course, some anger and frustration will come out during these talks, but long-term wallowing and ruminating on perceived unfairness can be more damaging than the layoff itself.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 2, 2026

While I've been ruminating on the availability of trees, Peeta has been struggling with how to maintain his identity.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023