feed

1 of 2

verb

ˈfēd 

fed ˈfed  ; feeding

transitive verb

1

a

: to give food to

b

: to give as food

2

a

: to furnish something essential to the development, sustenance, maintenance, or operation of

reading feeds the mind

b

: to supply (material to be operated on) to a machine

c(1)

: to insert and deposit (something) repeatedly or continuously

feed quarters into a parking meter

(2)

: to insert and deposit something into (something)

Running out to feed the meter every hour doesn't work, because the meter will not permit more than one hour for a given car.

—T. R. Reid

3

: to produce or provide food for

4

a

: satisfy, gratify

b

: support, encourage

5

a(1)

: to supply for use or consumption

(2)

: channel, route

b(1)

: to supply (a signal) to an electronic circuit

(2)

: to send (as by wire or satellite) to a transmitting station for broadcast

6

: to supply (a fellow actor) with cues and situations that make a role more effective

7

: to pass a ball or puck to (a teammate) especially for a shot at the goal

intransitive verb

1

a

: to consume food : eat

b

: prey

—used with on, upon, or off

2

: to become nourished or satisfied or sustained as if by food

3

a

: to become channeled or directed

b

: to move into a machine or opening in order to be used or processed

feed

2 of 2

noun

1

a

: an act of eating

b

: meal

especially : a large meal

2

a

: food for livestock

specifically : a mixture or preparation for feeding livestock

b

: the amount given at each feeding

3

a

: material supplied (as to a furnace or machine)

b

: a mechanism by which the action of feeding is effected

c

: the motion or process of carrying forward the material to be operated upon (as in a machine)

d

: the act or process of feeding a signal (such as an audio or video transmission) to a station for broadcast

also : the signal being fed

a live satellite feed

e

: an Internet service in which updates from electronic information sources (such as blogs or social media accounts) are presented in a continuous stream

an RSS feed

also : the information presented by such a service

I changed my settings so that all of my cousin's posts would show up at the top of my feed.

4

: the action of passing a ball or puck to a team member who is in position to score

Synonyms

Verb

• board
• cater
• provision
• victual

Noun

• banquet
• dinner
• feast
• regale
• spread

Examples of feed in a Sentence

Verb

He was too weak to feed himself.

We feed the plants with a special fertilizer twice a week.

We fed the horses with apples, oats, and hay.

The children fed apples to the horses.

These supplies could feed a small army for a week.

He doesn't earn enough to feed a family of four.

helping to feed and clothe poor children

They used the wood to feed the fire.

The streams feed the creek.

The motor is fed by an electrical current.

Noun

There's a jam in the paper feed.

We had to cut off the main power feed.

They're showing a live satellite feed of the event.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

A week before the release, Taylor Swift was rocking out at Coachella instead of feeding her fans who are desperate for a hint of what's to come. —Saba Hamedy, NBC News, 19 Apr. 2024

Phase 2 of the report will focus on how Maui’s fire protection system functioned, specifically what conditions fed the inferno, attempts to stop its spread, and evacuations. —Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2024

Bobbi Jo Johnson fed the boy and was not aware of the torture and abuse that was taking place, according to Wold. —Jennifer Rodriguez, Kansas City Star, 18 Apr. 2024

Also look for scratchings on sunny slopes that tell you turkeys have been recently feeding. —Will Brantley, Field & Stream, 17 Apr. 2024

Cosmopolitan Yachts incorporates solar panels across the top deck of its 70-foot power cat, which feed its banks of lithium batteries. —J. George Gorant, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2024

The Viet America Society, which registered in 2020, claims its mission is to feed needy people, provide mental health services and promote Vietnamese culture. —Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024

In San Diego County, escalating drug deaths fed an overall jump in the Medical Examiner’s caseload — from 3,347 deaths in 2019 to an unprecedented 4,405 cases in 2021, a 30 percent increase. —Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2024

Image As Israel has imposed a near-complete blockade on the territory, aid groups and United Nations officials have increasingly warned that the amount of food entering Gaza cannot feed its roughly 2.2 million people, pushing ever larger numbers of Gazans toward catastrophic hunger. —Bilal Shbair, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024

Noun

The default sequential feed setting required under SB 976 would achieve the same. —Nancy Magee, Orange County Register, 20 Apr. 2024

The videos can be highly addictive, researchers have found, because social media companies use algorithms to show users what most appeals to them, and the content feed is nearly infinite. —Rachyl Jones, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024

Ocean Blue Last summer, pool nails took over our feeds. —Annie Blay, Allure, 18 Apr. 2024

All of these snippets are served in a never-ending feed, a la Twitter. —Michael Calore Lauren Goode, WIRED, 18 Apr. 2024

The new discovery feed will launch as a tab within the mobile app, and next month, some users might see this feed as the homepage of their mobile app. —Emma Roth, The Verge, 17 Apr. 2024

Many of us seek beauty inspiration from our social media feeds, particularly from Black women who provide us with great recommendations for skincare products. —Larry Stansbury, Essence, 16 Apr. 2024

The goal was to prevent further messages and reduce the odds those men would reappear in her feed and waste more of her time. —Maggie Jones Gabra Zackman Krish Seenivasan Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024

Although cloud coverage prevented Buffalo observers from seeing the moon fully eclipse the sun, all five screens at Transit Drive-In projected the official NASA telescope feed. —Levi Mandel, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English feden, from Old English fēdan; akin to Old English fōda food — more at food

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1575, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing feed

• bottle-feed
• breast-feed
• chicken feed
• feed dog
• feed off
• feed one's face
• feed on/upon
• feed (someone) a line
• feed (someone) up
• feed the meter
• force-feed
• hand-feed
• mouth to feed
• self-feed
• spoon-feed
• stall-feed

Kids Definition

feed

1 of 2 verb

ˈfēd 

fed ˈfed  ; feeding

1

a

: to give food to

b

: to give as food

c

: eat sense 1

d

: prey entry 2 sense 1a

—used with on, upon, or off

feeds on insects

2

a

: to supply with something necessary

b

: to supply (material to be operated on) to a machine

c

: to nourish or become nourished as if by food

3

a

: to supply for use

b

: to supply (a signal) to an electronic circuit or to a transmitter for broadcast

feed

2 of 2 noun

1

: meal entry 1

especially : a large meal

2

: food for livestock

3

: a mechanism by which feeding is carried out

4

a

: a signal fed to a transmitter

b

: an Internet service in which updates from electronic information sources (as blogs or social media accounts) are presented in a continuous stream

also : the information presented by such a service

Medical Definition

feed

1 of 2 verb

ˈfēd 

fed ˈfed  ; feeding

transitive verb

1

a

: to give food to

b

: to give as food

2

: to produce or provide food for

intransitive verb

: to consume food : eat

feed

2 of 2 noun

1

a

: an act of eating

b

: meal

especially : a large meal

2

a

: food for livestock

specifically : a mixture or preparation for feeding livestock

b

: the amount given at each feeding