ingest
part of speech
verb (ingest, ingests, ingested, ingesting); noun (ingestion)
meaning for a pupil
1) (formal) To ingest is to take food, drink, medicine or another substance into your body by swallowing it. tree →
2) (formal) To ingest information is to take it in and absorb it. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science lessons on digestion, ingestion is the first step: food is ingested (eaten), then digested, absorbed and the waste is egested. Safety labels say «harmful if ingested», meaning dangerous to swallow: cleaning products, batteries, some plants. In the exam voice, «ingest» replaces «eat» or «swallow». Phrases: «harmful if ingested», «ingest food», «accidentally ingested».
examples
- Bleach is harmful if ingested. tree →
- Animals ingest food through their mouths. tree →
- The dog ingested a sock and had to see the vet. tree →
- If a child ingests a battery, go to hospital straight away. tree →
- Whales ingest tiny plastic bits from the sea. tree →
- Plants do not ingest food; they make it from sunlight. tree →
note
Formal word; in everyday talk say «swallow» or «eat». Noun: «ingestion». Opposite in science: «egest» (get rid of waste). Do not confuse with «digest» (break down food inside the body) or «inject» (put in with a needle).
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «ingest» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.