rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryruminationRepeated thinking
noun

rumination

roo-mih-NAY-shun/ˌruːmɪˈneɪʃn/

The repeated chewing of food brought back from the stomach.

Rumination helps cows break down tough grass by chewing it again.

A woman sits on the edge of a simple chair turning a small family photograph in her hands, shoulders slightly hunched and brow knitted, absorbed in troubling thoughts.
Etymology
ruminLatingullet
+ationLatinact or process

The “gullet” root connects this action noun to chewing the cud. Applied to thought, rumination is repeated mental chewing: returning to the same matter and considering it again.

In context

Dr. Tracey Marks2:52
And this is different from rumination, where you tend to settle into the thoughts and brood over them.
Two Things You Can Do To Stop Ruminating

More examples

  • During rumination, a sheep brings swallowed food back into its mouth.
  • The cow rests in the shade during rumination.
  • Rumination reduces swallowed plant material to smaller pieces.

Forms

rumination

ruminate verb — To chew food brought back up.

ruminant noun — An animal that rechews partly digested food.

Similar words

cud chewing
Names the same process, usually in less technical language.