ingestion

I1N1G2E1S1T1I1O1N1
/ɪnˈd͡ʒɛst͡ʃən/

noun

The process of ingesting, or consuming something orally, whether it be food, drink, medicine, or other substance. It is usually referred to as the first step of digestion.

Similar
consumptionintakeuptake
Opposite
egestion
OriginLatin ingestionem →
Less commonScrabble 10
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Meanings

nouningestion (countable and uncountable, plural ingestions)

plural ingestions

  1. countableuncountableThe process of ingesting, or consuming something orally, whether it be food, drink, medicine, or other substance. It is usually referred to as the first step of digestion.
  2. broadlycountableuncountableThe process of ingesting something into a jet engine or an instance.
  3. countableuncountableAny intake of a substance into an organism.

    The common modes of ingestion in forensic settings are oral ingestion, injection, and smoking

    2022, Suzanne Bell, Forensic Chemistry, page 339
  4. countableuncountablecomputingIntake of data into a computer system.

    Ingestion is the first step of your big data pipeline. You will have to onboard the data in your instance of Spark, whether it is in local mode or cluster mode.

    2020, Jean-Georges Perrin, Rob Thomas, Spark in Action, Second edition, Shelter Island: Manning, →ISBN

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
egestion

nounthe process of taking food into the body through the mouth (as by eating)

Similar
consumptionintakeuptake
Broader
bodily processbody processbodily function
Also see
consumptionintakeuptake

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latiningestionem
  2. Englishingestion

Borrowed from Latin ingestionem, accusative of ingestio (“a pouring in”), action noun of the perfect passive participle of ingerere (“pour in”), from in- (“in, into”) + gero (“to carry, to bear”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian поемане, поглъщане
  • поемане (poemane)the action of ingesting
  • поглъщане (poglăštane)the action of ingesting
Catalan ingestió
  • ingestióthe action of ingesting
French ingestion
  • ingestionthe action of ingesting
German Ingestion
  • Ingestionthe action of ingesting
Italian ingestione
  • ingestionethe action of ingesting
Polish spożywanie, spożycie
  • spożywaniethe action of ingesting
  • spożyciethe action of ingesting
Portuguese ingestão
  • ingestãothe action of ingesting
Spanish ingestión, ingesta
  • ingestiónthe action of ingesting
  • ingestathe action of ingesting

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with ingestion

questiondigestionegestion
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

ingestion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ingestion

MLA

“ingestion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ingestion. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ingestion,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ingestion.

Source: ingestion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.