Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense feeds, present participle feeding, past tense, past participle fed
1. verb
If you feed a person or animal, you give them food to eat and sometimes actually put it in their mouths.
We brought along pieces of old bread and fed the birds. [VERB noun]
She fed him a cookie. [VERB noun noun]
In that part of the world you can feed cattle on almost any green vegetable or fruit. [V n + on/with]
He spooned the ice cream into a cup and fed it to her. [VERB noun + to]
[Also VERB pronoun-reflexive]
Feed is also a noun.
[mainly British]
She's had a good feed.
feedinguncountable noun
The feeding of dairy cows has undergone a revolution.
2. verb
To feed a family or a community means to supply food for them.
Feeding a hungry family can be expensive . [VERB noun]
We have the technology to feed the population of the planet. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: cater for, provide for, nourish, provide with food More Synonyms of feed
3. verb
When an animal feeds, it eats or drinks something.
After a few days the caterpillars stopped feeding. [VERB]
Slugs feed on decaying plant and animal material. [V + on/off]
4. verb
When a baby feeds, or when you feed it, it drinks breast milk or milk from a bottle.
When a baby is thirsty, it feeds more often. [VERB]
I knew absolutely nothing about handling or feeding a baby. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: eat, drink milk, take nourishment More Synonyms of feed
5. variable noun [usually noun NOUN]
Animal feed is food given to animals, especially farm animals.
The grain just rotted and all they could use it for was animal feed.
...poultry feed.
6. verb
To feed something to a place, means to supply it to that place in a steady flow.
...blood vessels that feed blood to the brain. [VERB noun preposition]
...gas fed through pipelines. [VERB noun preposition]
Synonyms: supply, take, send, carry More Synonyms of feed
7. verb
If you feed something into a container or piece of equipment, you put it into it.
He took the compact disc from her, then fed it into the player. [VERB noun preposition]
She was feeding documents into a paper shredder. [VERB noun preposition]
8. verb
If someone feeds you false or secret information, they deliberately tell it to you.
He was surrounded by people who fed him ghastly lies. [VERB noun noun]
At least one British officer was feeding him with classified information. [VERB noun + with]
[Also VERB noun + to]
9. verb
If you feed someone's dislike or desire for something, you make it stronger.
The divorce was painfully public, feeding her dislike of the press. [VERB noun]
10. verb
If you feed a plant, you add substances to it to make it grow well.
Feed plants to encourage steady growth. [VERB noun]
11. verb
If one thing feedson another, it becomes stronger as a result of the other thing's existence.
The drinking and the guilt fed on each other. [VERB + on]
12. verb
To feed information into a computer means to gradually put it into it.
An automatic weather station feeds information on wind direction to the computer. [V n + into/to]
13. countable noun
A feed is a system that tells a user when an item is available to read, for example on Twitter.
I saw the news on my Twitter feed.
14. to bite the hand that feeds you
15. mouths to feed
Phrasal verbs:
See feed up
More Synonyms of feed
feed in British English
(fiːd)
verbWord forms: feeds, feeding or fed (fɛd)(mainly tr)
1.
to give food to
to feed the cat
2.
to give as food
to feed meat to the cat
3. (intransitive)
to eat food
the horses feed at noon
4.
to provide food for
these supplies can feed 10 million people
5.
to provide what is necessary for the existence or development of
to feed one's imagination
6.
to gratify; satisfy
to feed one's eyes on a beautiful sight
7. (also intr)
to supply (a machine, furnace, etc) with (the necessary materials or fuel) for its operation, or (of such materials) to flow or move forwards into a machine, etc
8.
to use (land) as grazing
9. theatre informal
to cue (an actor, esp a comedian) with lines or actions
10. sport
to pass a ball to (a team-mate)
11. electronics
to introduce (electrical energy) into a circuit, esp by means of a feeder
12. (also intr; foll by on or upon)
to eat or cause to eat
noun
13.
the act or an instance of feeding
14.
food, esp that of animals or babies
15.
the process of supplying a machine or furnace with a material or fuel
16.
the quantity of material or fuel so supplied
17. computing
a facility allowing web users to receive news headlines and updates on their browser from a website as soon as they are published
18.
the rate of advance of a cutting tool in a lathe, drill, etc
19.
a mechanism that supplies material or fuel or controls the rate of advance of a cutting tool
20. theatre informal
a performer, esp a straight man, who provides cues
21. informal
a meal
Derived forms
feedable (ˈfeedable)
adjective
Word origin
Old English fēdan; related to Old Norse fœtha to feed, Old High German fuotan, Gothic fōthjan; see food, fodder
feed in American English
(fid)
verb transitiveWord forms: fed or ˈfeeding
1.
to give food to; provide food for
2.
a.
to provide as food
to feed oats to horses
b.
to serve as food for
3.
to provide something necessary for the growth, development, or existence of; nourish; sustain
to feed one's anger
4.
to provide (material to be used up, processed, etc.)
to feed coal into a stove
5.
to provide with material
feed the stove
6.
to provide satisfaction for; gratify
to feed one's vanity
7. Sport
to pass (the ball, puck, etc.) to (a teammate intending to make a shot, try for a goal, etc.)
8. Theatre
to supply (an actor) with (cue lines)
verb intransitive
9.
to eat
said chiefly of animals
10.
to flow steadily, as into a machine for use, processing, etc.
noun
11.
a.
food given to animals; fodder
b.
the amount of fodder given at one time
12.
a.
the material fed into a machine
b.
the part of the machine supplying this material
c.
the supplying of this material
13. Informal
a meal
14. Radio and Television
a transmission by satellite, land lines, etc., as that sent by a network to individual stations for broadcast
Idioms:
feed on
off one's feed
Word origin
ME feden < OE fedan < base of foda, food
feed in Mechanical Engineering
(fid)
Word forms: (present) feeds, (past) fed, (perfect) fed, (progressive) feeding
verb
(Mechanical engineering: Energy, thermodynamics and heat transfer)
If a machine or furnace is fed with materials or fuel, or if the materials or fuel feed into the machine or furnace, the materials or fuel flow or move forwards into it.
SIMILAR WORDS:
supply
The machinist monitors the rate at which metal is fed into the machine for cutting.
Fuel feeds into the furnace quietly, steadily, and without smoke or dust.
If a machine or furnace is fed with materials or fuel, the materials or fuel flow or move forwards into it.
More idioms containing
feed
chicken feed
Examples of 'feed' in a sentence
feed
They used to feed on the fish being cleaned by local fishermen.
The Sun (2016)
The team fed the system historic data from hundreds of patients.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
The money could fund a year’s supply of supplementary feeding on one island.
Smithsonian Mag (2017)
Army ants are constantly on the move, generally looking for more food sources to feed their massive colonies.
Smithsonian Mag (2017)
You need to understand demand and then feed the information throughout the supply chain, ” said Spence.
Computing (2010)
They mislead as often as they feed.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Would it have made a difference if he had been fed properly and given treatment on time?
The Sun (2013)
They knocked his teeth out one one to feed him soup through straws.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The audience is wearing headphones that sometimes feed different information.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Use a liquid feed once a month.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The system feeds the account number through an algorithm.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
But a nurse wrongly set her feeding machine to deliver treble the correct amount of fluid.
The Sun (2013)
He is fed up reading things and hearing things.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The bill would also mean waste being used for animal feed or compost.
The Sun (2015)
Under the bonnet is a large hydrogen fuel tank that feeds the fuel cell.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
We made more food to feed them.
Christianity Today (2000)
Used particularly in poultry feed to deepen the colour of egg yolks.
Hanssen, Maurice & Marsden, Jill E For Additives (1987)
We are all about feeding friends and having a good time.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We produce feed grain that is not used in human food owing to its quality.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The algorithms have been improved continually over the past decade to make the news feed more relevant to the person looking at it.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Research shows that people who don't pay heed to their feed tend to eat more.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
In other languages
feed
British English: feed /fiːd/ VERB
If you feed a person or animal, you give them food.
She fed him a biscuit.
American English: feed
Arabic: يُطْعِمُ
Brazilian Portuguese: alimentar
Chinese: 喂养
Croatian: hraniti
Czech: krmit
Danish: fodre
Dutch: voeden
European Spanish: dar de comer
Finnish: syöttää tai ruokkia
French: nourrir
German: füttern
Greek: ταΐζω
Italian: nutrire
Japanese: 食物を与える
Korean: 음식(먹이)을 주다
Norwegian: mate
Polish: nakarmić
European Portuguese: alimentar
Romanian: a hrăni
Russian: кормить
Latin American Spanish: alimentar
Swedish: mata
Thai: ให้อาหาร
Turkish: beslemek
Ukrainian: годувати
Vietnamese: cho ăn
British English: feed NOUN
Animal feed is food given to animals, especially farm animals.
The grain just rotted and all they could use it for was animal feed.
American English: feed
Brazilian Portuguese: ração
Chinese: 饲料
European Spanish: pienso
French: nourriture
German: Futter
Italian: ciboper animali
Japanese: 飼料
Korean: 사료
European Portuguese: ração
Latin American Spanish: pienso
All related terms of 'feed'
fee
A fee is a sum of money that you pay to be allowed to do something.
feed on
to take as food; eat
feed up
If you feed someone up , you encourage them to eat extra food so that they put on weight .
drip-feed
If you drip-feed money into something, you pay the money a little at a time rather than paying it all at once.
feed bag
a bag filled with grain, fastened over a horse's muzzle for feeding
feed pump
A feed pump is a pump that moves a fluid such as a fuel at a controlled rate .
feed type
The feed type is the type of hydrocarbon which a refinery uses for a particular product.
form feed
a printer command that causes the printer to start printing on a new sheet of paper
hand-feed
to feed by hand
line feed
the action of making paper on printer move by one line
red feed
any of several red, surface-living, saltwater copepods (esp. Calanus finmarchicus ), used as food by fishes
bottle-feed
If you bottle-feed a baby, you give it milk or a liquid like milk in a bottle rather than the baby sucking milk from its mother's breasts .
breast-feed
When a woman breast-feeds her baby, she feeds it with milk from her breasts, rather than from a bottle .
feed grains
grains used to feed livestock
float-feed
(of a fuel system) controlled by a float operating a needle valve
foliar feed
a substance containing nutrients that is applied to the leaves of a plant
force-feed
If you force-feed a person or animal, you make them eat or drink by pushing food or drink down their throat .
sheet feed
the part of a computer printer where sheets of paper can be inserted and are then fed through the machine one at a time
spoon-feed
If you think that someone is being given too much help with something and is not making enough effort themselves, you can say they are being spoon-fed .
stall-feed
to keep and feed (an animal) in a stall , esp as an intensive method of fattening it for slaughter
stream feed
(on a photocopier , printer ) a continuous supply of paper
chicken feed
If you think that an amount of money is so small it is hardly worth having or considering, you can say that it is chicken feed .
cracker feed
Cracker feed is the raw materials used in different cracking processes.
friction feed
a device for feeding paper into a printer by gripping sheets between rollers
pressure-feed
a system in which the supply of material is maintained by applied pressure
feed a habit
A habit is an action which is considered bad that someone does repeatedly and finds it difficult to stop doing.
cut sheet feed
the automatic movement of single sheets of paper through the platen of the printer
feed a family
A family is a group of people who are related to each other, especially parents and their children.
feed-in tariff
a payment above the market rate paid to a small-scale producer of renewable energy by a large energy provider
mouths to feed
If you have a number of mouths to feed , you have the responsibility of earning enough money to feed and look after that number of people.
off one's feed
without appetite for food; somewhat sick
single-sheet feed
a mechanism for feeding or taking single sheets of paper into a printer
feedback
If you get feedback on your work or progress , someone tells you how well or badly you are doing, and how you could improve . If you get good feedback you have worked or performed well.
feedwater
water, previously purified to prevent scale deposit or corrosion , that is fed to boilers for steam generation
force-fed
to force (a person or animal) to eat or swallow food