Digest and digest are two words that are spelled identically but are pronounced differently and have different meanings, which makes them heteronyms. We will examine the definitions of the words digest and digest, where these words came from, and a few examples of their use in sentences.
A digest (DIE jest) is a summary of information or a book or magazine that compiles and condenses information. For instance, the American publication Reader’s Digest is a magazine that abridges nonfiction articles and compiles them in nearly monthly magazines. The word digest is derived from the Latin word digestus.
Digest (die JEST) is a verb that means to break down food in the body in order to extract nutrition. Digest is also used figuratively to mean to consume and mentally process knowledge. A third meaning of digest is to systematize and organize something. The word digest is derived from digesten. Related words are digests, digested, digesting, digestion.
Examples
Coronavirus digest: Danish abattoir closed over COVID-19 cluster (Deutsche Welle)
Here is your latest digest of university news and tips. (UTSA Today)
Karen Schulte is a retired social worker whose collection of poetry, Where Desire Settles, won first place in the Writer’s Digest 2017 Annual Contest and her poem “Displaced” won honorable mention in the Digest’s 2019 poetry contest. (The Shelter Island Reporter)
In the stomach and small intestine, things like bile, acid, and enzymes help digest, or break down your food so your body can absorb the parts it needs. (Moscow-Pullman Daily News)
According to the research firm, it took 20 days between a peak in COVID-19 cases in late April and a rally in value stocks to occur, as investors needed time to digest the news and see if the worst was really over before they committed their money to beaten-down stocks that rely on an opened-up economy. (The Business Insider)