masticate

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

masticate
    v 1: grind and knead; "masticate rubber"
    2: chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth; "He jawed his
       bubble gum"; "Chew your food and don't swallow it!"; "The
       cows were masticating the grass" [syn: {chew}, {masticate},
       {manducate}, {jaw}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Masticate \Mas"ti*cate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Masticated}; p.
   pr. & vb. n. {Masticating}.] [L. masticatus, p. p. of
   masticare to chew, prob. fr. mastiche mastic. See {Mastic}.]
   To grind or crush with, or as with, the teeth and prepare for
   swallowing and digestion; to chew; as, to masticate food.
   [1913 Webster]

from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

27 Moby Thesaurus words for "masticate":
      bite, bruise, champ, chaw, chew, chew the cud, chew up, chomp,
      chump, crunch, crush, gnash, gnaw, grind, gum, macerate, mash,
      mouth, mumble, munch, nibble, pulp, pulpify, ruminate, scrunch,
      smash, squash

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