regurgitate

verb

re·​gur·​gi·​tate (ˌ)rē-ˈgər-jə-ˌtāt 

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

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 has 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 latter half of the 16th century, is of Latin origin and traces back to the Latin word for "whirlpool," which is gurges.

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 on the Web

The fact that language models are capable of regurgitating substantial portions of popular works like Harry Potter, 1984, and The Hobbit could cause judges to look at these fair use arguments more skeptically. —ArsTechnica, 20 June 2025

Is the austerity of her work simply regurgitated cruelty? —Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 6 May 2025

Hollywood studios have arguably been regurgitating the same storyline and created a world where the only thing that can succeed is a sequel to a Marvel film. —Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 4 June 2025

Lindell, Coomer contends, regurgitated and elevated Oltmann’s claims to a wider audience. —Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 3 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1578, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for regurgitate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

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Kids Definition

regurgitate

verb

re·​gur·​gi·​tate (ˈ)rē-ˈgər-jə-ˌtāt 

regurgitated; regurgitating

: to throw or be thrown back or out again

regurgitate undigested food

regurgitation

(ˌ)rē-ˌgər-jə-ˈtā-shən

noun

Medical Definition

regurgitate

verb

re·​gur·​gi·​tate (ˈ)rē-ˈgər-jə-ˌtāt 

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 swallowed food into the mouth