regurgitate

verb re·gur·gi·tate \ (ˌ)rē-ˈgər-jə-ˌtāt \

Definition of regurgitate

regurgitated; regurgitating

intransitive verb

:to become thrown or poured back

transitive verb

:to throw or pour back or out from or as if from a cavity

regurgitate food

memorized facts to regurgitate on the exam

See regurgitate defined for English-language learners

See regurgitate defined for kids

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Examples of regurgitate in a Sentence

The bird regurgitates to feed its young.
The bird regurgitates food to feed its young.
She memorized the historical dates only to regurgitate them on the exam.
The speaker was just regurgitating facts and figures.

Recent Examples of regurgitate from the Web

Almost instantly, the snake regurgitated a third gecko that popped out bright red.

— sarah gibbens, National Geographic, "Battle Between Geckos and a Snake Ends in a Twist," 22 Aug. 2017
The dolphin will regurgitate the fish and the line.

— kevin spear, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Dolphin dangers on rise in Brevard County's Indian River," 17 Aug. 2017
Tokuda follows the Jagras at a safe distance, which returns to its pack and regurgitates the meal for a feast.

— simon parkin, Ars Technica, "Monster Hunter: World promises “deep, meaty experience on console”," 26 June 2017
Most people are regurgitating nostalgia in a very tired form, but there's some that are still bringing that zest, that willing-to-die-for-it energy.

— gary graff, Billboard, "Santana & The Isley Brothers Premiere 'I Remember' From Collaborative Album: Exclusive," 22 June 2017
The airwaves in Atlanta are bombarded with ads for Ossoff and Handel, and the candidates’ every action is magnified by national cable networks, then regurgitated back to the local news.

— jason johnson, The Root, "Add This to the List: The Dangers of Canvassing While Black in Ga.’s 6th District," 19 June 2017
In this day and age, people are happy to consume rumors and then regurgitate them in toxic judgment, but the truth has a way of weaseling its way to the surface.

— evan bass, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Bachelor in Paradise' Engaged Star to ABC: Please Don't Cancel the Show (Guest Column)," 17 June 2017
In other words, good science communicators teach people how to reach the right conclusions through logic and reason, not by simply regurgitating facts.

— hanneke weitering staff writer-producer, Fox News, "Neil deGrasse Tyson becomes 1st American to receive Stephen Hawking medal," 9 June 2017
The president is still regurgitating inaccurate campaign rhetoric.

— glenn kessler, Washington Post, "Trump on NATO funding: Still misleading after months of fact checks," 31 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'regurgitate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Something regurgitated has typically been taken in, at least partially digested, and then spit back out . . . either literally or figuratively. The word often appears in biological contexts (e.g., in describing how some birds feed their chicks by regurgitating incompletely digested food), or in references to ideas or information that have been acquired and restated. A student, for example, might be expected to learn information from a textbook or a teacher and then regurgitate it for a test. Regurgitate, which entered the English vocabulary in the mid-17th century, is of Latin origin and traces back to the Latin word for "whirlpool," which is gurges.

Origin and Etymology of regurgitate

Medieval Latin regurgitatus, past participle of regurgitare, from Latin re- + Late Latin gurgitare to engulf, from Latin gurgit-, gurges whirlpool — more at voracious

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First Known Use: 1578

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