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Synonyms

ruminate

American

[roo-muh-neyt] / 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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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

"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

After Eva and Ryland briefly ruminate on fear and primal instinct, Ryland’s otherwise direct and unemotional government superior takes to the mic, performing a cover of Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times.”

From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026

I saved it for later, to ruminate over and over that I had made her laugh, that I could make her laugh.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Instead, she ruminates on how microchimerism might change our understanding of ourselves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2025

The Cruzvillegas sculpture celebrates varieties of youthful play, while the Reihana animation ruminates on dimensions of cultural collision.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 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

Models ruminated about their next plate of pasta, distracted themselves from inopportune itches, and wondered over the sense of fashion amid wars.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 23, 2024

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

By contrast, when people ruminated on what they had done wrong, it led to "escalated heart rate and dysregulated the parasympathetic indicator."

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2023

He pored over “Old Waldo” Emerson and ruminated on the philosopher’s essay on “Compensation.”

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Bradford says many students "can't afford" to spend days ruminating on their offer as popular courses do get filled quickly, but it is important to not agree to one straight away.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

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

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

He took the coffee for the train, on the walk back ruminating about the nature of work in downtown Chicago.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz

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