Word
chewing
Phoneticschew·ing
US/ˈtʃuɪŋ/
UK/tʃjˈuːɪŋ/
Definitions
02the act of mastication
n. the physical act of crushing food with your teeth.
n. the physiological act of mastication, serving as the first stage of the digestive process.
“Proper chewing is important for your body to get nutrients from food.”
“The patient experienced significant discomfort during chewing due to a misalignment of the jaw following the accident.”
Technical
Synonyms
03tobacco or khat use
n. the habit of keeping tobacco or certain leaves in your mouth to release their juices.
n. the consumption of stimulants, such as tobacco or khat, by holding and grinding the material against the cheek.
“He gave up chewing years ago because it was bad for his teeth.”
“In certain cultures, the social chewing of khat leaves is a traditional practice that facilitates community bonding and long conversations.”
Informal
Etymology
From Middle English chewynge, chewand, from Old English ċēowende, from Proto-Germanic kewwandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *kewwaną (“to chew”), equivalent to chew + -ing.
From Middle English chewyng, chewynge, from Old English ċīwung, ċȳwung, ċēowung (“chewing”), equivalent to chew + -ing.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/chewing