masticate
/ˈmæstɪkeɪt/verb
masticate is spelled M-A-S-T-I-C-A-T-E: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 43 million words in written English, the 201,693rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, masticate means “To chew (usually food)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in masticate?
| Letters | 9: M-A-S-T-I-C-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 43 million words; the 201,693rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is masticate?
Masticate appears about once in every 43 million words in written English, the 201,693rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce masticate?
- /ˈmæstɪkeɪt/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-masticate.ogg, En-au-masticate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of masticate
- masticates present, singular, he/she/it
- masticating participle, present
- masticated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does masticate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To chew (usually food).
The cow stood, quietly masticating its cud.
- 2
To grind or knead something into a pulp.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does masticate come from?
From Latin masticātus, perfect passive participle of masticō (“to chew”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Alternatively, back-formation from mastication, either ultimately from Ancient Greek μαστιχάω (mastikháō, “to grind the teeth”). Compare French mastiquer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).