ruminant

¹ru·mi·nant

noun \ˈrü-mə-nənt\

Definition of RUMINANT

: a ruminant mammal

First Known Use of RUMINANT

1661

Other Mammals Terms

dormouse, dugong, gibbon, grimalkin, sable, stoat, ungulate, vole

²ruminant

adjective

Definition of RUMINANT

1

a (1) : chewing the cud (2) : characterized by chewing again what has been swallowed

b : of or relating to two suborders (Ruminantia and Tylopoda) of herbivorous even-toed hoofed mammals (as sheep, oxen, deer, and camels) that chew the cud and have a complex 3- or 4-chambered stomach

2

: given to or engaged in contemplation : meditative <stood there … in this attitude of ruminant relish — Thomas Wolfe>

— ru·mi·nant·ly adverb

Examples of RUMINANT

1. <I wandered around campus all day in a ruminant mood.>

First Known Use of RUMINANT

1691

Related to RUMINANT

Synonyms

broody, cogitative, meditative, melancholy, musing, pensive, reflective, contemplative, ruminative, thoughtful

Antonyms

unreflective

Related Words

introspective, retrospective, self-reflective; earnest, grave, sedate, serious, serious-minded, severe, sober, solemn, somber (or sombre), weighty; philosophical (also philosophic); analytic (or analytical), logical, rational; deliberate, purposeful; absentminded, abstracted, preoccupied

Near Antonyms

featherbrained, flighty, flippant, frivolous, goofy, harebrained, light-headed, scatterbrained; brainless, mindless, silly, thoughtless, unthinking

Other Mammals Terms

dormouse, dugong, gibbon, grimalkin, sable, stoat, ungulate, vole

ruminant

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Any cud-chewing ungulate, including antelope, camels, cattle, deer, giraffes, goats, okapis, pronghorn, and sheep. Most ruminants have a four-chambered stomach, two-toed feet, and small or absent upper incisors. Camels and chevrotains have three-chambered stomachs. Ruminants eat quickly, storing masses of grass (grazers) or foliage (browsers) in the first stomach chamber, the rumen, where it softens. They later regurgitate the material, called cud, and chew it again to break down the undigestible cellulose. The chewed cud goes directly to the other chambers, where various microorganisms help in its digestion.