the act or process in living organisms of breaking down ingested food material into easily absorbed and assimilated substances by the action of enzymes and other agents
▶ Related adjective: peptic
2.
mental assimilation, esp of ideas
3. bacteriology
the decomposition of sewage by the action of bacteria
4. chemistry
the treatment of material with heat, solvents, chemicals, etc, to cause softening or decomposition
Derived forms
digestional (diˈgestional)
adjective
Word origin
C14: from Old French, from Latin digestiō a dissolving, digestion