feeding

noun

feed·​ing ˈfē-diŋ 

1

: the act or process of eating or being fed

For a while zoos tried to control feeding by providing vending machines with pellets, but most have now banned it entirely.

—Phillip T. Robinson

—often used before another noun

a feeding schedule

feeding behavior

2

: an instance of feeding

two a.m. feedings

ready for a feeding

Examples of feeding in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Rhincodon typus, to use their scientific name, eat their ample fill by ram filter-feeding, vacuuming up gallons of water to strain out small prey before the water exits their gills. —JSTOR Daily, 24 Oct. 2025

Citing court records, the outlet reported that police alleged the boy was in especially poor condition when officers arrived at the campsite, as the parents allegedly cut off his breathing and feeding tube before abandoning their three children. —Sean Neumann, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025

Eleven months after the crash, in August 2023, doctors removed her feeding tube. —David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2025

Thinning and disappearing sea ice also disrupts Arctic seals’ feeding habits and makes the Arctic more accessible to humans, which further increases the overall risk to these species. —Doyle Rice, USA Today, 18 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

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

Phrases Containing feeding

• breast-feeding
• care and feeding
• feeding frenzy
• feeding ground
• feeding tube

Rhymes for feeding

• beading
• bleeding
• breeding
• ceding
• heeding
• kneading
• leading
• needing
• pleading
• reding
• seeding
• speeding