Standard Lemma guide

regurgitate

noun · verb · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /ɹɪˈɡɝ.d͡ʒəˌteɪt/
  • US: rĭ-gərˈ-jə-tāt
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: R IH2 G ER1 JH AH0 T EY2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Something regurgitated; regurgitated matter.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To throw up or vomit; to eject what has previously been swallowed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To cough up from the gut to feed its young, as an animal or bird does.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • The young gulls were fed by their mother’s regurgitated food.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To repeat (information) verbatim or by rote, typically after learning it without actual comprehension.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: derogatory, figuratively, sometimes, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To be thrown or poured back; to rush or surge back.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • Food may regurgitate from the stomach into the mouth.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • After drinking too much, the students vomited
  • He purged continuously
  • The patient regurgitated the food we gave him last night

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: vomit, vomit up, purge, cast, sick, cat, be sick, disgorge, regorge, retch, puke, barf, spew, spue, chuck, upchuck, honk, throw up

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: excrete, egest, eliminate, pass

7

verb

Meaning 7

repeat after memorization

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • For the exam, you must be able to regurgitate the information

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: reproduce

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: repeat, echo

8

verb

Meaning 8

feed through the beak by regurgitating previously swallowed food

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • many birds feed their young by regurgitating what they have swallowed and carried to the nest

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: feed, give

9

verb

Meaning 9

pour or rush back

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The blood regurgitates into the heart ventricle

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: pour

History

Etymology

From Late Latin regurgitātus, past participle of regurgitāre, combined form of re- (“back”) + gurgitāre (“to engulf, flood”), from gurges (“whirlpool, gulf, sea, abyss”).

Across languages

Translations

38 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: повръщам (povrǎštam) — to throw up
  • Chinese Mandarin: 反胃 (fǎnwèi) — to throw up
  • Finnish: oksentaa — to throw up
  • Finnish: antaa ylen — to throw up
  • French: régurgiter — to throw up
  • Galician: regurxitar — to throw up
  • German: regurgitieren — to throw up
  • German: erbrechen — to throw up
  • German: kotzen — to throw up
  • Greek: κάνω εμετό (káno emetó) — to throw up
  • Italian: rigurgitare — to throw up
  • Macedonian: повраќа (povraḱa) — to throw up
  • Macedonian: блуе (blue) — to throw up
  • Māori: whakaruaki — to throw up
  • Russian: отры́гивать (otrýgivatʹ) — to throw up
  • Russian: отрыгну́ть (otrygnútʹ) — to throw up
  • Russian: сры́гивать (srýgivatʹ) — to throw up
  • Russian: срыгну́ть (srygnútʹ) — to throw up
  • Russian: рыга́ть (rygátʹ) — to throw up
  • Russian: рыгну́ть (rygnútʹ) — to throw up
  • Russian: блева́ть (blevátʹ) — to throw up
  • Slovene: bruhati — to throw up
  • Spanish: regurgitar — to throw up
  • Ottoman Turkish: قوصمق (kusmak) — to throw up
  • Chinese Mandarin: 反芻 /反刍 (fǎnchú) — to cough up from gut to feed young chicks
  • Finnish: oksentaa — to cough up from gut to feed young chicks
  • Greek: αναμασώ (anamasó) — to cough up from gut to feed young chicks
  • Māori: whakaruaki — to cough up from gut to feed young chicks
  • Spanish: regurgitar — to cough up from gut to feed young chicks
  • Bulgarian: повтарям буквално (povtarjam bukvalno) — to repeat without actual comprehension
  • Czech: papouškovat — to repeat without actual comprehension
  • Dutch: letterlijk herhalen — to repeat without actual comprehension
  • Finnish: toistaa sanasta sanaan — to repeat without actual comprehension
  • German: wortwörtlich wiederholen — to repeat without actual comprehension
  • German: wiederkäuen — to repeat without actual comprehension
  • Greek: αναμασώ (anamasó) — to repeat without actual comprehension
  • Greek: αναμηρυκάζω (anamirykázo) — to repeat without actual comprehension
  • Spanish: repetir textualmente — to repeat without actual comprehension