mastication [
,mæsti'keiʃәn]
mastication[ noun ]
biting and grinding food in your mouth so it becomes soft enough to swallow
<noun.act>
Mastication \Mas`ti*ca"tion\, n. [L. masticatio: cf. F.
mastication.]
The act or operation of masticating; chewing, as of food.
Mastication is a necessary preparation of solid
aliment, without which there can be no good digestion.
--Arbuthnot.