feed

[feed] /fid/
verb (used with object), fed, feeding.
1.
to give food to; supply with nourishment:
to feed a child.
2.
to yield or serve as food for:
This land has fed 10 generations.
3.
to provide as food.
4.
to furnish for consumption.
5.
to satisfy; minister to; gratify:
Poetry feeds the imagination.
6.
to supply for maintenance or operation, as to a machine:
to feed paper into a photocopier.
7.
to provide with the necessary materials for development, maintenance, or operation:
to feed a printing press with paper.
8.
to use (land) as pasture.
9.
Theater Informal.
  1. to supply (an actor, especially a comedian) with lines or action, the responses to which are expected to elicit laughter.
  2. to provide cues to (an actor).
  3. Chiefly British. to prompt:
    Stand in the wings and feed them their lines.
10.
Radio and Television. to distribute (a local broadcast) via satellite or network.
verb (used without object), fed, feeding.
11.
(especially of animals) to take food; eat:
cows feeding in a meadow; to feed well.
12.
to be nourished or gratified; subsist:
to feed on grass; to feed on thoughts of revenge.
noun
13.
food, especially for farm animals, as cattle, horses or chickens.
14.
an allowance, portion, or supply of such food.
15.
Informal. a meal, especially a lavish one.
16.
the act of feeding.
17.
the act or process of feeding a furnace, machine, etc.
18.
the material, or the amount of it, so fed or supplied.
19.
a feeding mechanism.
20.
Electricity, feeder (def 10).
21.
Theater Informal.
  1. a line spoken by one actor, the response to which by another actor is expected to cause laughter.
  2. an actor, especially a straight man, who provides such lines.
22.
a local television broadcast distributed by satellite or network to a much wider audience, especially nationwide or international.
23.
Digital Technology. an XML-based web document that is updated automatically at predetermined intervals and includes descriptive titles or short descriptions and links to recent pages on a website:
Subscribe to news feeds to get the latest news from around the world.
Idioms
24.
chain feed, to pass (work) successively into a machine in such a manner that each new piece is held in place by or connected to the one before.
25.
off one's feed, Slang.
  1. reluctant to eat; without appetite.
  2. dejected; sad.
  3. not well; ill.
Origin
before 950; Middle English feden, Old English fēdan; cognate with Gothic fodjan, Old Saxon fōdian. See food
Related forms
feedable, adjective
outfeed, verb (used with object), outfed, outfeeding.
refeed, verb, refed, refeeding.
unfeedable, adjective
Synonyms
1, 2. nourish, sustain. 5. nurture, support, encourage, bolster. 13. Feed, fodder, forage, provender mean food for animals. Feed is the general word: pig feed; chicken feed. Fodder is especially applied to dry or green feed, as opposed to pasturage, fed to horses, cattle, etc.: fodder for winter feeding; Cornstalks are good fodder. Forage is food that an animal obtains (usually grass, leaves, etc.) by searching about for it: Lost cattle can usually live on forage. Provender denotes dry feed, such as hay, oats, or corn: a supply of provender in the haymow and corn cribs.
Antonyms
1, 2. starve.
British Dictionary definitions for off one's feed

feed

/fiːd/
verb (mainly transitive) feeds, feeding, fed (fɛd)
1.
to give food to: to feed the cat
2.
to give as food: to feed meat to the cat
3.
(intransitive) to eat food: the horses feed at noon
4.
to provide food for: these supplies can feed 10 million people
5.
to provide what is necessary for the existence or development of: to feed one's imagination
6.
to gratify; satisfy: to feed one's eyes on a beautiful sight
7.
(also intransitive) to supply (a machine, furnace, etc) with (the necessary materials or fuel) for its operation, or (of such materials) to flow or move forwards into a machine, etc
8.
to use (land) as grazing
9.
(theatre, informal) to cue (an actor, esp a comedian) with lines or actions
10.
(sport) to pass a ball to (a team-mate)
11.
(electronics) to introduce (electrical energy) into a circuit, esp by means of a feeder
12.
(also intransitive; foll by on or upon) to eat or cause to eat
noun
13.
the act or an instance of feeding
14.
food, esp that of animals or babies
15.
the process of supplying a machine or furnace with a material or fuel
16.
the quantity of material or fuel so supplied
17.
(computing) a facility allowing web users to receive news headlines and updates on their browser from a website as soon as they are published
18.
the rate of advance of a cutting tool in a lathe, drill, etc
19.
a mechanism that supplies material or fuel or controls the rate of advance of a cutting tool
20.
(theatre, informal) a performer, esp a straight man, who provides cues
21.
(informal) a meal
Derived Forms
feedable, adjective
Word Origin
Old English fēdan; related to Old Norse fœtha to feed, Old High German fuotan, Gothic fōthjan; see food, fodder
Word Origin and History for off one's feed

feed

v.

Old English fedan "nourish, feed, sustain, foster," from Proto-Germanic *fodjan (cf. Old Saxon fodjan, Old Frisian feda, Dutch voeden, Old High German fuotan, Old Norse foeða, Gothic fodjan "to feed"), from PIE *pa- "to protect, feed" (see food). Feeding frenzy is from 1989, metaphoric extension of a phrase that had been used of sharks since 1950s.

n.

"action of feeding," 1570s, from feed (v.). Meaning "food for animals" is first attested 1580s. Of machinery, from 1892.

Slang definitions & phrases for off one's feed

off one's feed

adjective phrase

Not feeling or looking well; indisposed

[1862+; used of animals by 1816]


feed

noun
  1. A meal: Stop by for a feed, anytime (1830+)
  2. Money (1900+)
  3. Contributions of opinion, advice, etc; input: They put their feed into the project (1990s+)
verb

To board; take one's meals; eat (1895+)

Related Terms

chicken feed, off one's feed


Idioms and Phrases with off one's feed

off one's feed

Have no desire to eat, have lost one's appetite, as in Even though Mom's gone only for a week, her absence puts Dad off his feed. Originating in the early 1800s and first used only for animals, this colloquial term later was applied to humans as well.

feed

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