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feed Definition

feed (fēd)

transitive verb fed, feed′·ing

  1. to give food to; provide food for
    1. to provide as food to feed oats to horses
    2. 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. Sports to pass (the ball, puck, etc.) to (a teammate intending to make a shot, try for a goal, etc.)
  8. Theater to supply (an actor) with (cue lines)

Etymology: ME feden < OE fedan < base of foda, food

intransitive verb

  1. to eat: said chiefly of animals
  2. to flow steadily, as into a machine for use, processing, etc.

noun

    1. food given to animals; fodder
    2. the amount of fodder given at one time
    1. the material fed into a machine
    2. the part of the machine supplying this material
    3. the supplying of this material
  3. Informal a meal
  4. Radio, TV a transmission by satellite, land lines, etc., as that sent by a network to individual stations for broadcast

feed Idioms

feed on

or feed upon
  1. to take as food; eat: said chiefly of animals
  2. to get satisfaction, support, etc. from

off one's feed

Slang without appetite for food; somewhat sick

feed Synonyms

feed

n.

fodder, food for animals, pasture, forage, provender, pasturage, roughage, silage, mash, provisions, supplies.

Common feeds include: grain, small grain, corn, oats, barley, rye, wheat, millet, peanuts, pulse, hay, clover, timothy, alsike, sweet clover, alfalfa, vetch, cowpeas, sorghum, rape, kale, soybeans, beets, ensilage, silage, molasses, oil meal, bean meal, tankage, bone meal, fish meal, straw, bran, maize, Kaffir corn, grass, pasture.

feed Synonyms

feed

v.

feast, regale, give food to, satisfy the hunger of, nourish, supply, support, sate, satisfy, fill, stuff, cram, gorge, banquet, dine, nurse, give suck to, maintain, augment, fatten, provide for, provision, victual, cater, stock, furnish, nurture, sustain, foster, keep alive, encourage, pasture, graze, gratify, serve, minister to, wait upon, wine and dine*.

Antonyms starve*, deprive*, quench.

feed Usage Examples

Object

  • duck: FEEDING THE DUCKS It's always tempting when visiting the Watercress Beds to take along a bag of stale bread to feed the ducks.
  • diet: Workhouse Diet The diet fed to workhouse inmates was often laid down in meticulous detail.

Preposition: on

  • nectar: It is used for feeding on nectar from flowers or other sugary substances such as rotten fruit.
  • invertebrate: They and their larvae will feed on the invertebrates in the trough.
  • insect: As nectar is low in protein it also feeds on insects, catching them in the same way as a swift in flight.
  • algae: They feed on the abundant algae which thrives in the warm lake waters.
  • crustacean: A hard-fighting, bottom-dwelling fish that feeds on crustaceans, larvae and bloodworms, and generally found in small shoals.
  • earthworm: Because moles feed on earthworms, killing the worms in an area of turf will make it unattractive to moles.

Adjective modifier

  • foliar: Alan also uses a kind of nettle soup that he applies through the year as a foliar feed.
  • liquid: A regular weekly liquid feed will ensure a good yield.
  • animal: What there is not enough of is animal feed - cereals to drive the predicted increase in meat consumption.

Modifies a noun

  • ban: In fact, no animal born after the feed ban was introduced in August 1996 has developed BSE.
  • reader: To view our web feeds you need software called a feed reader or aggregator.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • through: These effects are communicated to the behavior submodel which, in turn, feeds through to the movement of the individual.
  • up: Debt Free - Are you fed up of debt?

Preposition: with

fertilizer: Keep very well watered but only water around the plants and feed with liquid fertilizer once the fruits begin to form.

Noun used with modifier

  • rss: RSS feed for comments on this post. anna, pickard, weblog. northeast veering south 8 or 9, increasing 10.
  • drip: EU funding was never meant to be a constant drip feed.
  • livestock: In contrast, 64 per cent is used to produce livestock feed.
  • breast: Infant milks are intended to replace breast milk when mothers do not breast feed.

Browse dictionary entries near feed

  1. ‹ feebleness
  2. ‹ feebleminded
  3. ‹ feeble-minded
  4. ‹ feeble
  5. ‹ feeb
  6. ‹ fee tail
  7. ‹ fee-splitting
  8. ‹ fee simple
  9. ‹ fee
  10. ‹ Fedwire
  1. feed bag ›
  2. feed on ›
  3. feed ratio ›
  4. feedback ›
  5. feeder ›
  6. feeder cattle ›
  7. feeding frenzy ›
  8. feedlot ›
  9. feedstock ›
  10. feel ›