to give food to; supply with nourishment: to feed a child.
to yield or serve as food for: This land has fed 10 generations.
to provide as food.
to furnish for consumption.
to satisfy; minister to; gratify: Poetry feeds the imagination.
to supply for maintenance or operation, as to a machine: to feed paper into a photocopier.
to provide with the necessary materials for development, maintenance, or operation: to feed a printing press with paper.
to use (land) as pasture.
TheaterInformal.
to supply (an actor, especially a comedian) with lines or action, the responses to which are expected to elicit laughter.
to provide cues to (an actor).
Chiefly British.to prompt: Stand in the wings and feed them their lines.
Radioand Television. to distribute (a local broadcast) via satellite or network.
verb (used without object),fed,feed·ing.
(especially of animals) to take food; eat: cows feeding in a meadow; to feed well.
to be nourished or gratified; subsist: to feed on grass; to feed on thoughts of revenge.
noun
food, especially for farm animals, as cattle, horses or chickens.
an allowance, portion, or supply of such food.
Informal. a meal, especially a lavish one.
the act of feeding.
the act or process of feeding a furnace, machine, etc.
the material, or the amount of it, so fed or supplied.
a feeding mechanism.
Electricity. feeder (def. 10).
TheaterInformal.
a line spoken by one actor, the response to which by another actor is expected to cause laughter.
an actor, especially a straight man, who provides such lines.
a local television broadcast distributed by satellite or network to a much wider audience, especially nationwide or international.
Digital Technology.
a website or application that publishes updates from social media or news-collection websites in reverse chronological order: I follow all of the latest celebrity gossip in my Twitter feed.
an XML-based web document that is updated automatically at predetermined intervals and includes descriptive titles or short descriptions and links to recent pages on a website: Subscribe to news feeds to get the latest news from around the world.
Idioms for feed
chain feed, to pass (work) successively into a machine in such a manner that each new piece is held in place by or connected to the one before.
off one's feed, Slang.
reluctant to eat; without appetite.
dejected; sad.
not well; ill.
Origin of feed
First recorded before 950; Middle English feden, Old English fēdan; cognate with Gothic fōdjan, Old Saxon fōdian. See food
SYNONYMS FOR feed
1, 2 nourish, sustain.
5 nurture, support, encourage, bolster.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR feed ON THESAURUS.COM
ANTONYMS FOR feed
1, 2 starve.
SEE ANTONYMS FOR feed ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for feed
13. Feed,fodder,forage,provender mean food for animals. Feed is the general word: pig feed; chicken feed.Fodder is especially applied to dry or green feed, as opposed to pasturage, fed to horses, cattle, etc.: fodder for winter feeding; Cornstalks are good fodder.Forage is food that an animal obtains (usually grass, leaves, etc.) by searching about for it: Lost cattle can usually live on forage.Provender denotes dry feed, such as hay, oats, or corn: a supply of provender in the haymow and corn cribs.
OTHER WORDS FROM feed
feed·a·ble,adjectiveoutfeed,verb (used with object),out·fed,out·feed·ing.re·feed,verb,re·fed,re·feed·ing.un·feed·a·ble,adjective
Words nearby feed
fed up, fee, feeb, feeble, feeble-minded, feed, Feed a cold; starve a fever, feedback, feedback inhibition, feedback loop, feed bag
The group puts out most of its statements—on its Twitter feed, or its numerous websites—in Arabic, as opposed to Baluchi or Farsi.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan|Umar Farooq|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The city protests that a beach is not a suitable place to feed the hungry.
How Dickens and Scrooge Saved Christmas|Clive Irving|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And, according to an October post his feed, the school allegedly issued a second order of hospitalization for him.
Prof: MIT Hospitalized Me For Ferguson Tweets|Nina Strochlic|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But they are nonetheless connected and they feed into each other and are in the same world.
‘No Regrets’: Peter Jackson Says Goodbye to Middle-Earth|Alex Suskind|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“This is a way for some of us to feed our children,” Milland told The Daily Beast.
Amazon’s Turkers Kick Off the First Crowdsourced Labor Guild|Kevin Zawacki|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What defect in the feed valve will cause the brake pipe pressure to equalize with that in the main reservoir?
The Traveling Engineers' Association|Anonymous
It'd take all he's worth to feed him through the winter, and he'd be no use to you at all.
The Hills of Desire|Richard Aumerle Maher
They will continue to feed until every vestige of the tubers is eaten, leaving the ground in a fine condition for replanting.
The Hawaiian Islands|The Department of Foreign Affairs
Feed upon Him; that is the essential central requirement for all Christian life, and what does feeding on Him mean?
Expositions of Holy Scripture: Romans Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)|Alexander Maclaren
The best fishing season is from April to October, when the fish come to this bank to feed.
Fishing Grounds of the Gulf of Maine|Walter H. Rich
British Dictionary definitions for feed
feed
/ (fiːd) /
verbfeeds, feedingorfed (fɛd) (mainly tr)
to give food toto feed the cat
to give as foodto feed meat to the cat
(intr)to eat foodthe horses feed at noon
to provide food forthese supplies can feed 10 million people
to provide what is necessary for the existence or development ofto feed one's imagination
to gratify; satisfyto feed one's eyes on a beautiful sight
(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
to use (land) as grazing
theatreinformalto cue (an actor, esp a comedian) with lines or actions
sportto pass a ball to (a team-mate)
electronicsto introduce (electrical energy) into a circuit, esp by means of a feeder
(also intr; foll by on or upon)to eat or cause to eat
noun
the act or an instance of feeding
food, esp that of animals or babies
the process of supplying a machine or furnace with a material or fuel
the quantity of material or fuel so supplied
computinga facility allowing web users to receive news headlines and updates on their browser from a website as soon as they are published
the rate of advance of a cutting tool in a lathe, drill, etc
a mechanism that supplies material or fuel or controls the rate of advance of a cutting tool
theatreinformala performer, esp a straight man, who provides cues
informala meal
Derived forms of feed
feedable, adjective
Word Origin for feed
Old English fēdan; related to Old Norse fœtha to feed, Old High German fuotan, Gothic fōthjan; see food, fodder