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feedback

[feed-bak]
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noun
  1. Electronics.
    1. the process of returning part of the output of a circuit, system, or device to the input, either to oppose the input (negative feedback) or to aid the input (positive feedback).
    2. acoustic feedback.
  2. the furnishing of data concerning the operation or output of a machine to an automatic control device or to the machine itself, so that subsequent or ongoing operations of the machine can be altered or corrected.
  3. a reaction or response to a particular process or activity: He got very little feedback from his speech.
  4. evaluative information derived from such a reaction or response: to study the feedback from an audience survey.
  5. Psychology. knowledge of the results of any behavior, considered as influencing or modifying further performance.Compare biofeedback.
  6. Biology. a self-regulatory biological system, as in the synthesis of some hormones, in which the output or response affects the input, either positively or negatively.
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Origin of feedback

First recorded in 1915–20; noun use of verb phrase feed back
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

commentreactionobservationassessmentcriticismevaluationsentimentretaliationcomebackanswerreplyrebuttal

Examples from the Web for feedback

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Feedback will be to a master control servo that'll activate the heater or cooler.

  • Then all they'll do is buzz and sputter until the feedback is broken with the key.

    Meeting of the Board

    Alan Edward Nourse

  • Before we leave, we throw the machines into feedback, every one of them.

    Meeting of the Board

    Alan Edward Nourse

  • At each moment in time, projects will be accessible, and feedback can be provided.

  • His heart pumped from habit, not controlled by the feedback of sound or feeling.

    Instinct

    George Oliver Smith

British Dictionary definitions for feedback

feedback

noun
    1. the return of part of the output of an electronic circuit, device, or mechanical system to its input, so modifying its characteristics. In negative feedback a rise in output energy reduces the input energy; in positive feedback an increase in output energy reinforces the input energy
    2. that part of the output signal fed back into the input
  2. the return of part of the sound output by a loudspeaker to the microphone or pick-up so that a high-pitched whistle is produced
  3. the whistling noise so produced
    1. the effect of the product of a biological pathway on the rate of an earlier step in that pathway
    2. the substance or reaction causing such an effect, such as the release of a hormone in a biochemical pathway
  5. information in response to an inquiry, experiment, etcthere was little feedback from our questionnaire
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verb, adverb feed back
  1. (tr) to return (part of the output of a system) to its input
  2. to offer or suggest (information, ideas, etc) in reaction to an inquiry, experiment, etc
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for feedback

n.

1920, in the electronics sense, from feed + back (adj.). Transferred use, "information about the results of a process" is attested by 1955.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
feedback in Medicine

feedback

(fēd′băk′)
n.
  1. The return of a portion of the output of a process or system to the input, especially when used to maintain performance or to control a system or process.
  2. The portion of the output so returned.
  3. The return of information about the result of a process or activity.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
feedback in Science

feedback

[fēd′băk′]
  1. The supply of an input to some process or system as a function of its output. See more at negative feedback positive feedback.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
feedback in Culture

feedback

A process in which a system regulates itself by monitoring its own output. That is, it “feeds back” part of its output to itself. Feedback is used to control machines; a heating system, for example, uses a thermostat to monitor and adjust its output. Feedback is also used by the human brain to control various muscles and joints.

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Note

By extension, “feedback” is any response or information about the result of a process.

Note

Feedback is usually a feature of automation.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.