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

Without such a system, and with no economic incentive for people to be creative, our media landscape and public square will become absolutely devoid of anything but algorithmically regurgitated slop optimized for attention maximization and ad revenue. —Joseph Gordon-Levitt, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2025

The adults in the pack bring meat back to the den, either in pieces (a leg, a rib) or as offerings carried home in the belly that can be regurgitated. —Helen Whybrow july 7, Literary Hub, 7 July 2025

The article was little more than regurgitating a press release by two members of Congress on Friday night, with no conflicting opinions or interpretations offered. —Brendan Ahern, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025

The Fresno Bee editorial board offered nonsensical arguments in support of the boondoggle, uncritically regurgitating the talking points of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. —The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 22 July 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