ingestible

A doctor holds up a small, ingestible capsule for a patient to see.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Capable of being taken into the body: "ingestible" describes a substance that can be taken into the body, especially through the mouth and into the digestive system, for absorption or processing.
   • Suitable for consumption: It refers to items that are safe or intended to be ingested, such as food, drink, or medication.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The capsule is designed to be ingestible, allowing the medicine to reach the stomach. (The capsule can be swallowed and taken into the body.)
  • Not all plants are ingestible; some are toxic to humans. (Not all plants can be safely eaten or taken into the body.)

Advanced Usage

• "Ingestible material": any substance that can be taken into the body for nutritional or medicinal purposes.

  • The lab tested the ingestible material for contaminants before approving it for public use. (The substance was tested for safety before being consumed.)

• "Ingestible technology": refers to devices or sensors that can be swallowed for medical monitoring.

  • The new ingestible sensor tracks body temperature and pH levels as it passes through the digestive tract. (A swallowable device that monitors health internally.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ingest (verb): to take food, drink, or another substance into the body.

  • Patients must ingest the medication with water. (They must swallow it.)

• Ingestion (noun): the act of taking something into the body.

  • Ingestion of contaminated water can cause illness. (The process of swallowing or absorbing it.)

• Ingestible (noun, rare): a substance that is designed to be ingested.

  • The lab produces ingestibles for both human and veterinary use. (Products meant to be taken internally.)

Synonyms

• Edible: safe or suitable to be eaten.
  • These mushrooms are edible, but those are poisonous. (Can be eaten safely.)
• Consumable: capable of being used up, especially as food or drink.
  • The ship's consumable supplies include water and food. (Items that can be consumed.)

Related Idioms

• "Hard to swallow": difficult to accept or believe (not directly related to physical ingestion, but metaphorical).
  • His explanation was hard to swallow. (It was difficult to believe.)
• "Eat one's words": to retract something previously said (idiom, not literal ingestion).
  • He had to eat his words after the prediction failed. (He admitted he was wrong.)