mastication

[ mas-ti-key-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act or process of chewing:

   Limited ability to open the mouth may make proper mastication of food more difficult.

2. the act or process of grinding, shredding, crushing, or kneading to a pulp: A machine with two horizontal rolls revolving in opposite directions is used for the mastication of rubber.

   In the office he could hear the soft chatter of people on their phones, the steely mastication of a paper shredder, the thwack of a coffee mug being set down.

   A machine with two horizontal rolls revolving in opposite directions is used for the mastication of rubber.

3. Forestry. the act or process of grinding up small trees and brush in a forest in order to thin it out or reduce the fuel available to forest fires:

   The remains of mastication and chipping are left on the forest floor, forming a mulch to protect the soil from compaction and erosion.

Other Words From

• re·mas·ti·ca·tion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mastication¹

First recorded in 1400–50; from Late Latin masticātiōn-, stem of masticātiō “act of chewing,” equivalent to Latin masticāre + iō -ion ( def ); masticate ( def )

Example Sentences

Mechanical treatment includes wood chipping, mastication and removal of trees, branches, leaves, biomass and other material from the forest, which has built up in recent decades and can feed flames.

From Los Angeles Times

The group’s goal is to get the park to do more thinning, mastication and biomass removal, which they hope will reduce the risk of sequoias dying in both prescribed burns and wildfires.

From Los Angeles Times

Its goal is to get the park to do more thinning, mastication and biomass removal in addition to prescribed burns, she said.

From Los Angeles Times

But there’s a hole in the network, McGreevy said: Calaveras Big Trees officials declined the group’s offer to extend the fuel break through the park with 270 acres of mastication, even though the organization said it would secure grant funding and ensure quality control.

From Los Angeles Times

Indeed, Callum Ross, a biomechanist and neurobiologist at the University of Chicago, counts the origin of mastication as one the three course-changing evolutionary transitions enabled by the tongue, along with the shift from water to land and the origin of human speech.

From Science Magazine