underfeed

verb

un·​der·​feed ˌən-dər-ˈfēd 

underfed ˌən-dər-ˈfed  ; underfeeding

transitive verb

: to feed with too little food

Examples of underfeed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Those soldiers were often ill-trained and underfed. — Meredith Oyen, The Conversation, 2 Sep. 2025

When an orchid is underfed or not fed at all, the orchid will eventually weaken and stop growing. — Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 19 Jan. 2026

Children were underfed, heavily worked, and educated foremost in the tenets of faith. — Kristen Martin, New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2025

Underslept, underdressed, and underfed—as might happen when one is forced to adhere to a 5,000-year-old lifestyle—Silvie drifts along on eddies of dread, the doomed heroine of some endless folk song, each verse tinged with more horror than the last. — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 11 May 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1659, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for underfeed

• aniseed
• centipede
• cottonseed
• disagreed
• ganymede
• guaranteed
• intercede
• overspeed
• pedigreed
• refereed
• supercede
• supersede

Kids Definition

underfeed

verb

un·​der·​feed ˌən-dər-ˈfēd 

underfed -ˈfed  ; underfeeding

: to feed with too little food

Medical Definition

underfeed

verb

un·​der·​feed ˌən-dər-ˈfēd 

underfed -ˈfed  ; underfeeding

transitive verb

: to feed with too little food

an underfed woman has a higher probability of a miscarriage and of a stillbirth

—Rose E. Frisch

intransitive verb

: to eat too little food