English · Word Candidate

digest

/daɪˈd͡ʒɛst/

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: digests · digesting · digested

Sense 1

Meaning · English

To distribute or arrange methodically; to work over and classify; to reduce to portions for ready use or application.

Verb

Examples

to digest laws

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Meaning · English

To separate (the food) in its passage through the alimentary canal into the nutritive and nonnutritive elements; to prepare, by the action of the digestive juices, for conversion into blood; to convert into chyme.

Verb

Examples

In the morning giue them [horses] barley or prouender, a little at a time in diſtinct or ſeueral portions, tvvice or thrice one after another, ſo as he may chevv and eke diſgeſt it thoroughly, othervviſe if he rauen it, as he vvil do hauing much at a time, he rendreth it in his dung vvhole and not d

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 3

Meaning · English

That which is digested; especially, that which is worked over, classified, and arranged under proper heads or titles.

Noun

Examples

By also relating the tales included in the anthology to various facts of that development, he leaves no doubt that this volume constitutes a veritable digest of the remarkable strides made by the genre in recent years.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 4

Meaning · English

A compilation of statutes or decisions analytically arranged; a summary of laws.

Noun

Examples

Comyn's Digest

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “digest” mean?

To distribute or arrange methodically; to work over and classify; to reduce to portions for ready use or application.

Is “digest” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.