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

Its caterpillars can kill boxwood shrubs through their heavy feeding. —Chad Murphy, Cincinnati Enquirer, 2 Oct. 2025

There's a debate raging about whether adding a squirrel feeding station filled with corn or peanuts to your garden will satisfy the rodents and keep them away from bulbs. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 2 Oct. 2025

Arable land necessary for the feeding of people was being turned into land for the feeding of livestock. —Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 30 Sep. 2025

Kids can pet a chick and plant a radish seed, but no feeding of the animals allowed. —Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 29 Sep. 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