feeder

[fee-der]

noun

1. a person or thing that supplies food or feeds something.

2. a bin or boxlike device from which farm animals may eat, especially such a device designed to allow a number of chickens to feed simultaneously or to release a specific amount of feed at regular intervals.

3. a person or thing that takes food or nourishment.

4. a livestock animal that is fed an enriched diet to fatten it for market.

5. a person or device that feeds a machine, printing press, etc.

6. a tributary stream.

7. bird feeder.

8. feeder line.

9. feeder road.

10. Electricity.,  Also a conductor, or group of conductors, connecting primary equipment in an electric power system.

11. British.,  a baby's bib.

12. Theater Slang.,  straight man.

adjective

1. being, functioning as, or serving as a feeder.

2. pertaining to livestock to be fattened for market.

feeder

/ ˈfiːdə /

noun

1. a person or thing that feeds or is fed

2. a child's feeding bottle or bib

3. agriculture a head of livestock being fattened for slaughter

4. a person or device that feeds the working material into a system or machine

5. a tributary channel, esp one that supplies a reservoir or canal with water

6. 1. a road, service, etc, that links secondary areas to the main traffic network

   2. ( as modifier )

      a feeder bus

7. 1. a transmission line connecting an aerial to a transmitter or receiver

   2. a power line for transmitting electrical power from a generating station to a distribution network

Word History and Origins

Origin of feeder¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; feed, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Mr Manakas walks past the empty metal feeders and the milking room now gathering cobwebs.

Read more on BBC

Lapowski had emigrated in 1869 and built a successful business, earning enough to send his son to Worcester Academy in Massachusetts, a feeder school for Harvard.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The best way to prevent bear encounters, she said, is by securing garbage and removing attractants such as bird feeders, pet food, coolers and barbecue grills.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

FeatherSnap Seed Feeder -My wife recently became enchanted with birdwatching, mostly while hiking, but even our simple backyard feeder has her captivated.

Read more on Salon

“We were chasing one out of town and the bear actually stopped mid chase, grabbed a hummingbird feeder in this person’s front yard and literally just downed it,” she recalled.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• grower 
• laborer 
• peasant 
• producer 
• rancher