force feed
noun
lubrication under pressure, as from a pump, used especially in internal-combustion engines.
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force feed
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force-feed
force-feedverb (used with object)to compel to take food, especially by means of a tube inserted into the throat.
force feed
1 Americannoun
force-feed
2
American
[fawrs-feed, fohrs-]
/ ˈfɔrsˈfid, ˈfoʊrs- /
verb (used with object)
force-fed,
force-feeding
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to compel to take food, especially by means of a tube inserted into the throat.
They force-fed the prisoners in the hunger strike.
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to compel to absorb or assimilate.
The recruits were force-fed a military attitude.
force-feed
British
verb
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to force (a person or animal) to eat or swallow food
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to force (someone) to receive opinions, propaganda, etc
noun
Etymology
Origin of force feed1
First recorded in 1915–20
Origin of force-feed2
First recorded in 1905–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“You don’t generally convince senators by trying to force feed them,” Kennedy said in an interview.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2022
Limiting Patterson is hard, though, as the Falcons continue to force feed their breakout playmaker with so many touches that he’s tied for the sixth-most touchdowns from scrimmage.
From New York Times ● Dec. 16, 2021
Fangio said he’s certain his fiery first-round draft pick will use the letdown as kindling for a prosperous career, but he’s not going to force feed him the ball Sunday.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 31, 2020
Yeast also needs to consume sugar gradually—a production plant can’t force feed the cells at a faster clip.
From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2020
“You’ll have to force feed her—strong soup and eggs and cod liver oil.”
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
Later, his mother tries, and fails, to force-feed her oblivious son the libretto for “Fat.”
From New York Times ● Nov. 3, 2022
There was a natural tendency in Week 1 for teams that acquired elite veteran receivers to force-feed their new weapons.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 17, 2022
I text back "I'm really sorry I tried to force-feed you Weetabix".
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2020
Deborah Frances-White’s screenplay relies on the recurrent mention of Mary’s multiple identities to force-feed these platitudes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2019
If you ever want to torture me, just force-feed me cilantro.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
It was a funny rebuke to the force-fed notion that sports champions are these locked-in super computers with scrupulous attention to detail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
McDonald, who wrote the bestseller, “A Colossal Failure of Common Sense,” said tech representation in the S&P 500 is so high that retail investors are being force-fed the sector.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
“People are getting fed up with being force-fed new tech, new AI, new tracking tools,” said Ari Waldman, Professor of Law at the UC Irvine.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
We, the fans, are the people who have been force-fed mistake after mistake.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
So he left and wandered, delighting in the freedom of Northern Italy, where he could ruminate on matters remote from the subjects he had been force-fed in his highly disciplined Prussian schoolroom.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Today, producers are concentrated in the eastern provinces of Shandong and Anhui, where farmers churn out thousands of tons of foie gras by force-feeding ducks and geese to enlarge their livers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
“The Colonel and the King” debunks some of the most stubborn myths about Parker, refuting the notion that Parker destroyed Elvis’ career by force-feeding awful material down his throat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025
The primary means by which Meta has encouraged adoption of its A.I. can be generously described as digital force-feeding.
From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2025
Chin delves into racism, gay rights and other social justice issues, but not by force-feeding them.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 17, 2023
This poster from, the National Women's Social and Political Union in England shows the force-feeding of a British suffragette.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
