What does regurgitate mean?
Regurgitate means literally to bring swallowed food or stomach contents back up, as some animals do when feeding their young. It can also describe the forceful expulsion of material from a cavity, especially the mouth or stomach. Figuratively, the word describes speech or writing that repeats information without adding thought, originality, or substance: an explanation may be said to regurgitate familiar ideas. The literal sense is relatively formal and somewhat clinical, while the figurative sense is commonly critical, suggesting that the speaker or writer is merely recycling what they have heard or read. Although the word can sound unpleasant, it is useful because it distinguishes a physical process of expelling contents from the broader, less technical act of vomiting.
verbTo bring swallowed food back into the mouth, or to expel the contents of the stomach or another cavity. Figuratively, it means to repeat ideas, information, or memories in a mechanical or unoriginal way.
- To bring swallowed or partially digested food back into the mouth.
- To expel or vomit the contents of the stomach or another internal cavity.
- To repeat information, ideas, or memories mechanically, especially without adding anything new.
"The bird regurgitated a pellet of half-digested food for its chicks."
"The penguin regurgitated the food it had stored for its mate."
"His explanation seemed to regurgitate the same ideas without offering any new insight."
Regurgitation can mean a natural act of bringing food back up—and, figuratively, a very unoriginal way of recycling information.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does regurgitate come from?
The word comes from Latin regurgitare, formed from re-, meaning back, and gurgitare, a term associated with disgorging or surging out. The gurg- element is related to words such as gurgle and to the Latin gurges, meaning a gulf or deep flood. English use developed both for the physical act of bringing up material and, later, for the figurative repetition of unoriginal information.
Related word forms
How regurgitate is actually used
In its literal senses, the word is fairly formal and may sound clinical or strongly physical. Its figurative use is more common in discussion of speech, writing, education, or repetitive behavior and often carries a critical connotation.