CHEWING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does chewing mean? 

• CHEWING (noun)
  The noun CHEWING has 1 sense:

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

  Familiarity information: CHEWING used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CHEWING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

chew; chewing; manduction; mastication

Hypernyms ("chewing" is a kind of...):

change of state (the act of changing something into something different in essential characteristics)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chewing"):

chomping (the act of chewing noisily)

gumming; mumbling (ineffectual chewing (as if without teeth))

rumination ((of ruminants) chewing (the cud))

Holonyms ("chewing" is a part of...):

eating; feeding (the act of consuming food)

Derivation:

chew (chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth)

 Context examples 

Nicotine chewing gum reduces the withdrawal symptoms associated with smoking cessation.

(Nicotine gum, NCI Thesaurus)

Mouthwashes, mints or chewing gum may make your breath fresher.

(Bad Breath, NIH)

Tobacco (smoking and chewing) and alcohol may increase the risk of erythroplakia.

(Erythroplakia, NCI Dictionary)

A proprietary chewing gum formulated to keep the mouth moist and decrease bad breath.

(Biotene Dental Chewing Gum, NCI Thesaurus)

Tobacco (smoking and chewing) and alcohol may increase the risk of leukoplakia in the mouth.

(Leukoplakia, NCI Dictionary)

A chewing gum that contains a small dose of nicotine, which enters the blood by being absorbed through the lining of the mouth.

(Nicotine gum, NCI Dictionary)

The majority of patients present with signs and symptoms of locally advanced disease including mucosal ulceration, pain, difficulty with speaking, chewing, and swallowing, bleeding, weight loss, and neck swelling.

(Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

The main sensory nerve of the head and face, and the motor nerve of the muscles used in chewing.

(Fifth cranial nerve, NCI Dictionary)

White Fang resisted, and he could feel the jaws shifting their grip, slightly relaxing and coming together again in a chewing movement.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

I do wonder if any of us will ever get our wishes, said Laurie, chewing grass like a meditative calf.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)