To save this word, you'll need to log in.
di·gest | \ ˈdī-ˌjest 
\
\Definition of digest
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : a summation or condensation of a body of information: such as
a : a systematic compilation of legal rules, statutes, or decisions
b : a periodical devoted to condensed versions of previously published articles
2 : a product of digestion
digest
verbdi·gest | \ dī-ˈjest , də- \
, də- \digested; digesting; digests
Definition of digest (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : to distribute or arrange systematically : classify
2 : to convert (food) into absorbable form
3 : to take into the mind or memory especially : to assimilate mentally
4a : to soften, decompose, or break down by heat and moisture or chemical action
DNA digested by restriction enzymes
b : to extract soluble ingredients from by warming with a liquid
5 : to compress into a short summary
6 : absorb sense 2 the capacity of the U.S. to digest immigrants
Keep scrolling for more
Synonyms for digest
Synonyms: Noun
- abstract,
- breviary,
- brief,
- capsule,
- conspectus,
- encapsulation,
- epitome,
- inventory,
- outline,
- précis,
- recap,
- recapitulation,
- résumé
- (or resume also resumé),
- roundup,
- run-through,
- rundown,
- sum,
- sum-up,
- summa,
- summarization,
- summary,
- summing-up,
- synopsis,
- wrap-up
Synonyms: Verb
- assort,
- break down,
- categorize,
- class,
- classify,
- codify,
- compartment,
- compartmentalize,
- distinguish,
- distribute,
- grade,
- group,
- peg,
- place,
- range,
- rank,
- relegate,
- separate,
- sort,
- type
Examples of digest in a Sentence
Noun
a digest of the laws
a digest of yesterday's departmental meeting Verb
He has trouble digesting certain foods.
It will take me a while to digest this news.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Although the company regularly publishes articles about Ann Arbor, including in a twice-weekly print digest branded as The Ann Arbor News, some residents said the student paper has often more effectively covered the community.
—
BostonGlobe.com, "But Sourine, a University of Michigan senior, was there because she had to be. As one of four city and government reporters for Ann Arbor’s sole daily newspaper, she had biked through a steady rain between classes to take notes on the city’s plans for developing a new park.," 20 Oct. 2019 Our plan was simple but ambitious: create a daily news digest about what was happening in Beijing; obtain the list of every fax number in the country that was printed in the Yellow Pages; send the digest out to all of these fax machines.
—
King-wa Fu, Quartz, "Students in Hong Kong used fax machines to fight Chinese censorship of Tiananmen Square," 29 Oct. 2019 In May, 1986, Kaplan and Holmes published their findings in a weekly C.D.C. digest.
—
Mike Mariani, The New Yorker, "A Town for People with Chronic Fatigue," 3 Sep. 2019 Subscribe to the Globe’s free real estate newsletter — our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design — at pages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp.
—
Boston.com Real Estate, "Recent home sales north of Boston (August 21)," 21 Aug. 2019 Your political digest Michael Hancock defeats Jamie Giellis, winning a third and final term.
—
Nic Garcia, The Denver Post, "The Spot: What the heck does “local control” even mean?," 6 June 2019 Subscribe to the Globe’s free real estate newsletter — our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design — at pages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp.
—
Boston.com Real Estate, "For $1.4 million, live in a R.I. mill where cornmeal, sermons were the daily grind," 26 July 2019 Subscribe to the Globe’s free real estate newsletter — our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design — at pages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp.
—
Boston.com Real Estate, "For $1.4 million, live in a R.I. mill where cornmeal, sermons were the daily grind," 26 July 2019 The parasympathetic functions are often characterized as rest-and-digest.
—
Anne R. Crecelius, The Conversation, "Why do people faint?," 20 June 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb In 2015, Bartoszek's team captured a 31.5-pound female in the process of digesting a 35-pound fawn.
—
Allen G. Breed, sun-sentinel.com, "To save the Everglades, guardians fight time — and climate," 3 Dec. 2019 The police department also updated its jail policy regarding medication, to ensure that inmates are monitored until medication is fully digested, Malley said.
—
Evan Macdonald, cleveland, "Lakewood judge calls for outside review of jail after policies changed in response to recent incidents," 29 Nov. 2019 But while everything may smell and taste good to your dog, many Thanksgiving foods are unhealthy and dangerous for your pup to digest.
—
Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, "The Dos and Don'ts of What Thanksgiving Foods are Safe for Your Dog," 27 Nov. 2019 So sit back, digest that pie, turkey and stuffing, and enjoy the film.
—
Teen Vogue, "15 of the Best Movies to Watch this Thanksgiving," 27 Nov. 2019 Their stomachs are highly acidic, allowing them to safely digest sick animals as well as healthy ones, reducing the chance that diseases like anthrax, tuberculosis, and rabies will spread to other wildlife or humans.
—
Charlie Hamilton James, National Geographic, "‘This is a full-blown crisis’: Fighting vulture poisoning in Kenya," 22 Nov. 2019 Carmona suggested letting the model run the show by digesting all the various pieces of data and spitting out buy-and-sell decisions.
—
Gregory Zuckerman, Quartz, "The history of blunders and missteps that led to the quant trading revolution," 6 Nov. 2019 Bond yields, which move inversely to prices, first fell as markets digested the ECB’s guidance.
—
The Economist, "Can central bankers talk too much?," 24 Oct. 2019 Taylor, 15, and Ashley, 11, students at Burroughs High School and Jordan Middle School, respectively, utilized their time providing content for their friends, family and community to digest.
—
Andrew J. Campa, Burbank Leader, "Foodie sisters show off sophisticated side of youth dining," 20 Sep. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'digest.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for digest
digest
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of digest
(Entry 1 of 2)
: information or a piece of writing that has been made shorter
digest
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of digest (Entry 2 of 2)
: to change (food that you have eaten) by a biological process into simpler forms that can be used by the body
: to think over and try to understand (news, information, etc.)
See the full definition for digest in the English Language Learners Dictionary
digest
noundi·gest | \ ˈdī-ˌjest \
\Kids Definition of digest
(Entry 1 of 2)
: information in shortened form
digest
verbdi·gest | \ dī-ˈjest , də- \
, də- \digested; digesting
Kids Definition of digest (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : to change or become changed into simpler forms that can be used by the body
digest a meal My dinner is still digesting.
2 : to think over and try to understand
That's a lot of information to digest.
digest
noundi·gest | \ ˈdī-ˌjest \
\Medical Definition of digest
(Entry 1 of 2)
: a product of digestion
digest
transitive verbdi·gest | \ dī-ˈjest , də- \
, də- \Medical Definition of digest (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : to convert (food) into absorbable form
2a : to soften, decompose, or break down by heat and moisture or chemicals
b : to extract soluble ingredients from by warming with a liquid
Keep scrolling for more
digest
noundi·gest | \ ˈdī-ˌjest \
\Legal Definition of digest
: a compilation of legal rules, statutes, or decisions systematically arranged
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on digest
What made you want to look up digest? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Great Scrabble Words—A Quiz
- Which of the following Q-without-U words means the number five in cards or dice?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
- Great Scrabble Words—A Quiz
Words to improve your Scrabble game
Take the quiz - Semantic Drift Quiz
A challenging quiz of changing words.
Take the quiz - Spell It
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
Take the quiz - Dictionary Devil
The dictionary has been scrambled—can you put it back together?
Play the game
Share digest
Time Traveler for digest
The first known use of digest was in the 14th century
See more words from the same century