verb
adj
Freq #72947
Meanings
-
1
verb
To think about something deeply and at length.
I didn't answer right away because I needed to ruminate on the offer first.
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2
verb
To bring food back up and chew it again, as cows and other ruminants do.
A camel will ruminate just as a cow will.
Thesaurus
Word family
Forms
ruminatedruminatesruminating
Etymology
First attested in 1533; borrowed from Latin rūminātus, perfect active participle of rūminor (“to chew the cud, turn over in the mind”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from rūmen (“the throat, gullet”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix), itself of uncertain origin.