ruminate
verb
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When you ruminate, you chew something over, either literally or figuratively. Literal rumination may seem a little gross to humans, but to cows, chewing your cud (partially digested food brought up from the stomach for another chew) is just a natural part of life. Figurative ruminating is much more palatable to humans; that kind of deep, meditative thought is often deemed quite a worthy activity. The verb ruminate has described metaphorical chewing over since the early 1500s and actual chewing since later that same century. Our English word comes from and shares the meanings of the Latin verb ruminari (“to chew the cud” or “muse upon”), which in turn comes from rumen, the Latin name for the first stomach compartment of ruminant animals (that is, creatures like cows that chew their cud).
Examples of ruminate in a Sentence
Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 13 Apr. 2025
Still ruminating on Luka Dončić’s return to Dallas, where Marcus Thompson II wrote that some things in the NBA are worth more than titles.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
McBride is by no means the only House member who has been ruminating on the topic.
—Oriana González, Them, 21 Mar. 2025
In the video, Jim goes through the motions of catching the city bus to ride to school — uniform and all — before goofing off in class with his friends and later playing Xbox in his bedroom, all while ruminating on an absent father.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ruminate
Cite this Entry
“Ruminate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ruminate. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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ruminate
verb
Medical Definition
ruminate
intransitive verb
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