Feed

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈfiːd/
• Rhymes: -iːd

From Middle English feden, from Old English fēdan ("to feed"), from Proto-Germanic *fōdijaną ("to feed"), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- ("to guard, graze, feed"). Cognate with West Frisian fiede ("to nourish, feed"), Dutch voeden ("to feed"), Danish føde ("to bring forth, feed"), Swedish föda ("to bring forth, feed"), Icelandic fæða ("to feed"), and more distantly with Latin pāscō ("feed, nourish", verb.) through Indo-European. More at food, fodder.

Full definition of feed

Verb

1. (transitive) To give (someone or something) food to eat.
   Feed the dog every evening.
• Bible, Romans xii. 20If thine enemy hunger, feed him.
2. (intransitive) To eat usually of animals.
   Spiders feed on gnats and flies.
• 1879, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher Chapter 1, But then I had the massive flintlock by me for protection. ¶...The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window at the old mare feeding in the meadow below by the brook,....
3. (transitive) To give (someone or something) to (someone or something else) as food.
   Feed the fish to the dolphins.
• 2012 December 25 (airdate), Steven Moffat, The Snowmen (Doctor Who):DR SIMEON: I said I'd feed you. I didn't say who to.
4. (transitive) To give to a machine to be processed.
   Feed the paper gently into the document shredder.
   We got interesting results after feeding the computer with the new data.
5. (figurative) To satisfy, gratify, or minister to (a sense, taste, desire, etc.).
• William Shakespeare (1564-1616)I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.
• Richard Knolles (1545-1610)feeding him with the hope of liberty
6. To supply with something.
   Springs feed ponds with water.
7. To graze; to cause to be cropped by feeding, as herbage by cattle.
   If grain is too forward in autumn, feed it with sheep.
• MortimerOnce in three years feed your mowing lands.
8. (sports, transitive) To pass to.
• 2010, December 28, Kevin Darlin, West Brom 1-3 Blackburn, Morrison then played a pivotal role in West Brom's equaliser, powering through the middle and feeding Tchoyi, whose low, teasing right-wing cross was poked in by Thomas at the far post
9. (phonology, of a phonological rule) To create the environment where another phonological rule can apply.Nasalization feeds raising.

Noun

1. (uncountable) Food given to (especially herbivorous) animals.They sell feed, riding helmets, and everything else for horses.
2. Something supplied continuously.a satellite feed
3. The part of a machine that supplies the material to be operated upon.the paper feed of a printer
4. (countable) A gathering to eat, especially in quantityThey held a crab feed on the beach.
5. (Internet) Encapsulated online content, such as news or a blog, that can be subscribed to.I've subscribed to the feeds of my favourite blogs, so I can find out when new posts are added without having to visit those sites.

Derived terms

Derived terms

fe(e) + -(e)d

Verb

1. feed

   (past of fee)