🦷 To chew 🔧 To soften material

to masticate

9.5

To grind and soften materials like rubber using machines

verb
/ˈmæstɪˌkeɪt/

Specialized

: amasar

In the rubber industry, workers often masticate the raw material to prepare it for processing.

Examples

The chef instructed the students to masticate the dough until it was smooth and elastic.
To create a proper mixture, you must masticate the components together thoroughly.
There are about 109 base pairs in the genome organized, as we now know thanks to Craig, in about 39,000 genes, which is less information than some species that we classically claim superiority over, and based on this biological superiority, feel free to masticate and modify.

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Synonyms

to mash

vsto masticate

121 1.4

To press or crush something until it becomes soft

is about controlled kneading and softening for processing materials

to grind

vsto masticate

61 2.4

To crush something into powder by rubbing or pressing

is mainly mechanical kneading to soften rather than abrasive powdering or shaping

to mush

vsto masticate

2 4.2

To crush or mash something until it becomes soft

is a controlled mechanical process used to soften without making pulp

How Finely

to pulverize

8 7.4

grind

5 2.5

to masticate

Specialized

9.5

to mash

121 1.4

to crush

401 1.6

Surface Forms

masticate infinitive

masticated past

masticated past participle

masticating present participle

masticates third person singular

Morphology

masticate = mastic (opaque) = mastic + ate

The industrial sense ('to grind or knead') extends metaphorically from 'chew' and the rare noun 'mastic', so the composition is not readily inferable by learners.

Etymology

Masticate also keeps the old root masticare meaning 'to chew', and people used that idea for machines and tools that grind or knead materials. That's why to masticate rubber or other substances is like making them be 'chewed' until they are soft and ready.