feeder

[ fee-der ]

/ ˈfi dər /

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noun

a person or thing that supplies food or feeds something.

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.

a person or thing that takes food or nourishment.

a livestock animal that is fed an enriched diet to fatten it for market.Compare stocker (def. 2).

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

a tributary stream.

bird feeder.

feeder line.

feeder road.

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

British. a baby's bib.

Theater Slang. straight man.

adjective

being, functioning as, or serving as a feeder.

pertaining to livestock to be fattened for market.

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Origin of feeder

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at feed, -er¹

Words nearby feeder

Feed a cold; starve a fever, feedback, feedback loop, feed bag, feedbox, feeder, feeder line, feeder road, feedgrain, feedhorn, feeding

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use feeder in a sentence

Cats that started using puzzle feeders actually brought home more wildlife.
Meatier meals and more playtime might reduce cats’ toll on wildlife|Jonathan Lambert|February 11, 2021|Science News
There’s also a risk of the disease being transferred from one bird species to another due to the intermingling that occurs at feeders — something that’s rare in nature.
Your dirty bird feeder could be spreading disease|Melissa Hart|February 9, 2021|Washington Post
Stigma sanctioned by GOP bottom feeders like Pence is a major factor behind those tragic deaths.
Time for GOP to open up to LGBTQ Americans|James Driscoll|January 28, 2021|Washington Blade
Five minutes later, the hummingbird flew to the feeder and Bruce shut the door.
Catch me if you can: An unlikely hummingbird is banded at a Virginia park|John Kelly|January 18, 2021|Washington Post

University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard and their feeder streets can’t be widened.
What the Census Taught Me About the NIMBY vs. YIMBY Debate|Paul Krueger|December 14, 2020|Voice of San Diego
At first Wales and Sanger conceived of Wikipedia merely as an adjunct to Nupedia, sort of like a feeder product or farm team.
You Can Look It Up: The Wikipedia Story|Walter Isaacson|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Counting the visitors to the bird feeder would probably be pushing it.
Up to a Point: I Do My Own Taxes With No Help, Except From a Couple of Bloody Marys|P. J. O’Rourke|April 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Inside a feeder school for The Family, a secretive global network of evangelical power players.
The Week’s Best Longreads for September 14, 2013|David Sessions|September 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Many comedians have rejected the bro code and pushed back against resorting to bottom-feeder rape punchlines for cheap laughs.
Louis C.K. on Daniel Tosh’s Rape Joke: Are Comedy and Feminism Enemies?|Jennifer L. Pozner|July 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST
They also need a voice in land rights and decisions to build feeder roads that make it possible to get their goods to market.
South Sudan's Women: Building the World’s Newest Nation|Swanee Hunt|December 15, 2011|DAILY BEAST
It is the Book of Howth which accuses Sidney of being a ‘lusty feeder and surfeiter.’
Ireland Under the Tudors, Vol. II (of 3)|Richard Bagwell
The Wye is the most important feeder of the Derwent, and runs through scenery that is romantically beautiful.
The Rivers of Great Britain: Rivers of the East Coast|Various
Two miles further down, on the west side, the Ouse receives another important feeder in the Aire.
The Rivers of Great Britain: Rivers of the East Coast|Various
It is very largely a bottom feeder and, therefore, rather of a sluggish nature.
Game Birds and Game Fishes of the Pacific Coast|Harry Thom Payne
While the pressman is laying out his plates the feeder should be cutting thin sheets of paper the size of one of the plates.
The Building of a Book|Various

British Dictionary definitions for feeder

feeder

/ (ˈfiːdə) /

noun

a person or thing that feeds or is fed

a child's feeding bottle or bib

agriculture, mainly US and Canadian a head of livestock being fattened for slaughter

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

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

a road, service, etc, that links secondary areas to the main traffic network
(as modifier)a feeder bus

a transmission line connecting an aerial to a transmitter or receiver
a power line for transmitting electrical power from a generating station to a distribution network

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

feeder

Origin of feeder

Words nearby feeder

Words related to feeder

How to use feeder in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for feeder