underfeed

verb

Definition of underfeednext
as in to overfeed

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of underfeed That court order stems from a legal action that the Southern Center brought against Sheriff Franklin’s predecessor, Greg Bartlett, who had been underfeeding inmates while taking $212,000 in food money for his personal use. — Walt Bogdanich and Grace Ashford, New York Times, 14 Dec. 2017 See All Example Sentences for underfeed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for underfeed
  1. overfeed
  2. fatten
Verb
  • However, frequent consumption of sweets and sugary drinks can overfeed harmful bacteria in a way that neither saliva nor helpful bacteria can overcome.
    — Jacqueline Abranches, The Conversation, 2 Dec. 2025
  • Remember, those treat calories count toward the daily total, so adjust meal portions accordingly to prevent overfeeding and maintain a balanced, healthy diet.
    — Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Definition of overfeed
Verb
  • Don’t stress about your pile of fall reading; fatten it up, baby, and pick up one of this month’s new releases.
    — Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
  • But Commure isn’t just promising to fatten doctors’ wallets with money from insurers.
    — Casey Ross, STAT, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of fatten

Browse Nearby Words

underfed
underfeed
underfeeding
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Underfeed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/underfeed. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tittle

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All