# digestion

> English word · Noun · IPA /daɪˈd͡ʒɛst͡ʃən/ · frequency rank #19,312

## Definitions
1. The process, in the gastrointestinal tract, by which food is converted into substances that can be used by the body.
2. The result of this process.
3. The ability to use this process.
4. The processing of decay in organic matter assisted by microorganisms.
5. The assimilation and understanding of ideas.
6. Generation of pus; suppuration.
7. Dissolution of a sample into a solution by means of adding acid and heat.

## Etymology
From Old French digestion. Partly displaced native Old English melting (“melting, digestion”).

## Easily confused with
- **direction** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/digestion-vs-direction)
- **digestive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/digestion-vs-digestive)

## Common misspellings (14)
`ddigestion`, `dgiestion`, `diegstion`, `digesiton`, `digession`, `digesstion`, `digestino`, `digestionn`, `digestoin`, `digesttion`, `digetsion`, `diggestion`, `digsetion`, `idgestion`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/digestion