To eat, drink, or otherwise take something into the body through the mouth.
From Latin 'ingestus,' past participle of 'ingerere': 'in-' (into) + 'gerere' (to carry). The term originally referred to the mechanical action of putting food into the digestive system and is commonly used in medical and scientific contexts.
Scientists use 'ingest' instead of casual words like 'eat' because it emphasizes the pure mechanical action of getting food into your system—which is why doctors talk about 'ingesting poison' or toxins even though nobody would normally say 'I'm eating poison!'
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