What does ingesting mean?
Ingesting is the act of taking something into the body or into a system for processing. In its literal sense, it refers to consuming food, drink, medicine, or another substance. It is also widely used in technical contexts to describe receiving and processing data, information, documents, or media. For example, a company may describe a system as ingesting customer records, while a news organization may describe its platform as ingesting reports from many sources. The word is formal and somewhat technical, but it is also used in ordinary discussion of nutrition and digestion. Compared with “eating,” “ingesting” sounds more clinical and is appropriate when the substance may be medicine or something other than food. Compared with “taking in,” it can imply a process involving absorption, incorporation, or subsequent processing. The term is useful because it applies both to physical consumption and to the way information enters computer systems and organizations.
verbIngesting means taking food, drink, or other substances into the body, or receiving and processing information, ideas, or material from an external source.
- Taking food, drink, or another substance into the body.
- Receiving, taking in, and often processing information, data, documents, or media.
"The company is ingesting millions of records to improve its search system."
"The body needs several hours for digesting a large meal."
"The platform is ingesting customer feedback to identify recurring problems."
From Latin gerere, meaning “to carry,” ingest literally describes carrying something into the body or into a system.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does ingesting come from?
The word comes from Latin ingestus, the past participle of ingere, meaning “to bring in or carry in.” That verb combines the prefix in- with gerere, meaning “to carry,” reflecting the idea of bringing material inside. English developed the noun “ingest” and the verb “ingest” from this Latin foundation, while related words such as “ingestion,” “ingestible,” and “digestion” belong to the same wider family of Latin formations involving carrying or bringing in.
Related word forms
How ingesting is actually used
“Ingesting” is the present-participle and gerund form of “ingest.” It is especially common in technical and organizational contexts, where it can sound more formal or technical than “eating” or “taking in.”
Easily confused with ingesting
Ingesting means taking something in, while digesting means physically or mentally processing what has been taken in.
Ingesting refers to receiving or absorbing material or information, while investing means putting money or effort into something with the aim of gaining a benefit.