Definition of "ruminate" [ru•mi•nate]

• To turn a matter over and over in the mind. (verb-intransitive)
• To chew cud. (verb-intransitive)
• To reflect on over and over again. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Again the word "rumination" suggestions an oddly somatic association: to ruminate is to turn over in mind and mouth (as in: chewing the cud)."
• "So, once again I come back to my lj after a bit of a lapse - but I just need somewhere to ruminate (ruminate is a word, yes?"
• "Their study, which included 1,300 men and women from ages 25 to 75, focused on a person's tendency to "ruminate," which they defined as getting stuck obsessing on negative emotions when trouble enters one's life."