digest
verb /dʌɪˈdʒɛst 
/ /dɪˈdʒɛst/ [with object]
/ /dɪˈdʒɛst/ [with object]1Break down (food) in the alimentary canal into substances that can be absorbed and used by the body.In terms of the western view of digestion, food is digested in the stomach and passed on to the small intestines where the nutrients in the food are absorbed and distributed to all tissues and cells of the body through the blood circulation....
- Their stomachs can't digest other foods properly until this age.
- They produce saliva, which drains into the mouth and helps to break up and digest food.
Synonyms
break down, dissolve, assimilate, absorb, take in, take up
1.1 Chemistry Treat (a substance) with heat, enzymes, or a solvent in order to decompose it or extract essential components.Aliquot of the plant material was digested with nitric sulphate....
- That protein enzymes can digest proteins raises the important question of how enzymes are regulated.
- It seems that Japanese researchers have inserted a gene from the human liver into rice to enable it to digest pesticides and industrial chemicals.
2Understand or assimilate (information) by a period of reflection: Leonora digested this piece of news with mixed feelings...
- This of course creates the vicious circle where we are so used to understanding our past through stories that we can digest information only when it is has been turned into a story.
- Professionals need to be able to digest information in a certain way, so while the internet gave us the growth in information what we hear them to say is help me understand what is important.
- And with every response young minds click and whirr, evaluating and digesting the information.
Synonyms
assimilate, absorb, take in, understand, comprehend, grasp, master, learn, familiarize oneself with;
consider, think about, contemplate, mull over, chew over, weigh up, reflect on, ponder, meditate on, study
informal get, get the hang of, pick up, get clued up about, get the point of
2.1Arrange in a systematic or convenient order, especially by reduction: the computer digested your labours into a form understandable by a program...
- Along with his National Security Advisor he should be consolidating intelligence from all sources and digesting it in order to make the correct decisions.
- But for the most part, I digested the techniques and systematized them in my own way in Argentina.
- We all know burned-out activists who have turned angry over the years as they see their finest efforts come to naught or, at best, only slowly digested by the system.
Synonyms
classify, catalogue, tabulate, codify, arrange, order, dispose, systematize, methodize;
condense, compress, compact, telescope, summarize, precis, abstract
rare epitomize
noun /ˈdʌɪdʒɛst /
/1A compilation or summary of material or information: a digest of their findings...
- A digest of the information is provided on separate pages, along with the profession of the head of the family, and the residential telephone number.
- Few people will read them in full, so for most people their main sources of information are executive summaries, digests, and press reports.
- This digest offers some collected wisdom regarding considerations and strategies for selecting and retaining teacher mentors.
1.1A periodical consisting of condensed versions of pieces of writing or news published elsewhere.In 1991 in the Directory of Electronic Journals and Newsletters, there were about 30 electronic journals and over 60 newsletters and digests published over the Internet....
- It's a morning digest of California political news, with a bit of attitude thrown in.
- The news digest has a section in it called ‘Boring But Important’.
1.2A methodical summary of a body of laws.Your Honours will see the second-last paragraph of what I might conveniently refer to as the digest....
- The wealth of charts, chronologies, and digests of laws and regulations (including more than a page of initials and what they stand for) will be useful to activists and interested citizens.
- The largest ever digest of Irish High Court and Supreme Court judgements will be launched by the Chief Justice this week.
Synonyms
summary, synopsis, abstract, precis, résumé, outline, sketch, (quick) rundown, round-up, abridgement, summation, review, compendium;
North American wrap-up
archaic argument
rare epitome, summa, conspectus
1.3 (the Digest) The compendium of Roman law compiled in the reign of Justinian.
2 Chemistry A substance or mixture obtained by digestion: a digest of cloned DNA...
- After incubating the cells for one hour with soluble or lysate digests; calcium, iron, or zinc standards; or pure buffer, the researchers lysed the cells and measured mineral levels using atomic absorption spectroscopy.
- Phosphate in the digests and in culture solutions was measured spectrophotometrically using the molybdate and malachite green method described earlier.
- Lung digests were obtained as previously described.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Latin digest- 'distributed, dissolved, digested', from the verb digerere, from di- 'apart' + gerere 'carry'; the noun from Latin digesta 'matters methodically arranged', from digestus 'divided', from digerere.