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Glite Dictionary
🦷 For chewing 🦷 A chewing muscle
masticatory

masticatory

9.0
A muscle that moves the jaw when you chew
  • noun
  • /ˈmæstɪkəˌtɔri/
  • Specialized
translation icon : músculo masticador
  • The dentist explained that a strong masticatory is essential for proper chewing.

Examples

  • Physical therapy helped restore function to the damaged masticatory.

  • After the surgery, the patient had difficulty moving his masticatory on one side.

  • The masticatory muscles help us chew our food.

  • Are masticatory muscles important for digestion?

  • The masticatory muscles work together to allow efficient chewing of food.

  • To maintain good oral health, it is important to strengthen your masticatory muscles.

  • The masticatory muscle on the left side of her jaw was more developed due to her chewing habits.

Synonyms

masticator
vsmasticatory
  • Specialized
8.7

Muscles in the jaw that move to chew food

is more general meaning muscles used for chewing rather than only jaw muscles

Surface Forms

masticatory singular
masticatories plural

Morphology

masticatory = masticate (semi-transparent) = masticate + ory

The derivation from 'masticate' to an adjectival form meaning 'relating to chewing' is clear, but the noun sense 'a (masticatory) muscle' is a specialized nominal use that may be less obvious to general learners.

Etymology

Masticatory comes from a word that means 'to chew' and shares the same root as masticate ('to chew'). So a masticatory is a muscle or group of muscles used for chewing.