mastication

Definition of Mastication in English :

1. chew, chewing, manduction, mastication

biting and grinding food in your mouth so it becomes soft enough to swallow

WordNet Lexical Database for English. Princeton University. 2010.

Mastication

verb

1.

to chew (food)

2.

to reduce (materials such as rubber) to a pulp by crushing, grinding, or kneading

verb transitiveWord forms: ˈmastiˌcated or ˈmastiˌcating

1.

to chew up (food, etc.)

2.

to grind, cut, or knead (rubber, etc.) to a pulp

v. mas·ti·cat·ed, mas·ti·cat·ing, mas·ti·cates

v.tr.

1. To chew (food).

2. To grind and knead (rubber, for example) into a pulp.

v.intr.

To chew food.