masticatory
/mæˈstɪk.əˌtɔr.i/noun, adjective
masticatory is spelled M-A-S-T-I-C-A-T-O-R-Y: 11 letters and 5 syllables. It appears about once in every 36 million words in written English, the 184,844th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, masticatory means “Something chewed, originally as a medicine, now typically for pleasure or to increase the flow of saliva” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of masticatory is masticatories.
How many letters and syllables are in masticatory?
| Letters | 11: M-A-S-T-I-C-A-T-O-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 36 million words; the 184,844th 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 masticatory?
Masticatory appears about once in every 36 million words in written English, the 184,844th 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 masticatory?
- UK /ˌmasˈtɪk.eɪ.tər.i/
- US /mæˈstɪk.əˌtɔr.i/
Masticatory has 5 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Rho9998-masticatory.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of masticatory
- masticatories plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does masticatory mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Something chewed, originally as a medicine, now typically for pleasure or to increase the flow of saliva.
adjective
- 1
Of, or relating to mastication.
- 2
Used for chewing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does masticatory come from?
From Latin mastico + -atory, the former borrowed from Ancient Greek μαστιχάω (mastikháō, “I gnash the teeth”), from μάσταξ (mástax, “that with which one chews”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).