What does digested mean?
"Digested" is the past tense and past participle of the verb "digest," with two principal uses. In its literal sense, it describes food that has been broken down in the stomach and intestines into nutrients the body can absorb — as in easily digested meals or half-digested remains found by scientists. In its far more common figurative sense, it refers to information, news, or ideas that have been read, considered, and mentally absorbed: a reader who has digested a lengthy report has not merely scanned it but genuinely understood it. The word carries no strong connotation on its own; it is at home in formal writing, journalism, science, and casual conversation alike. Its flexibility makes it useful wherever processing — whether biological or intellectual — is complete. Related forms include digestion, digestive, digestible, and indigestible, all stemming from the same Latin root meaning to divide or distribute.
verb (past simple and past participle of "digest")The past tense and past participle of "digest": to have broken down food in the stomach and intestines into substances the body can absorb, or, figuratively, to have mentally absorbed, processed, and understood information.
- (of food) broken down physically and chemically by the digestive system into absorbable nutrients.
- (of information) fully understood, processed, or assimilated mentally.
"By morning she had digested the report and was ready with her recommendations."
"The snake lay motionless for days while it digested its meal."
"He had barely digested the news when the phone rang again."
Your body literally digests dinner, but your brain does the figurative version overnight too — which is why sleeping on a hard problem so often works.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of digested
"Digest" derives from Latin "digerere" (past participle "digestus"), formed from "dis-" (apart) plus "gerere" (to carry), originally meaning to divide or distribute, and later applied specifically to the breakdown of food. The word entered English via Old French "digeste" in late Middle English, first in medical contexts concerning the stomach. Its figurative sense of mentally absorbing information developed later, extending the bodily process to the mind. Cognates and derivatives sharing the Latin root include ingestion-related terms such as ingest, congestion, digestion, and digestive.
Related word forms
How digested is actually used
"Digested" is neutral in register and works equally well in scientific, everyday, and figurative contexts. In figurative use it often appears with abstract objects such as information, news, reports, or ideas. As an attributive modifier before food ("half-digested food"), it frequently carries a slightly unpleasant or clinical connotation.
Easily confused with digested
A digestif is a noun for an alcoholic drink taken after a meal to aid digestion, whereas digested is the verb form meaning having broken down or absorbed something.