feeding

[ fee-ding ]

/ ˈfi dɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR feeding ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act of a person or thing that feeds.

an instance of eating or of taking or being given nourishment.

grazing land.

Nearby words

feeder, feeder line, feeder road, feedgrain, feedhorn, feeding, feeding bottle, feeding cup, feeding frenzy, feeding tube, feedlot

Origin of feeding

before 900; Middle English feding, Old English fēding. See feed, -ing¹

Related forms

non·feed·ing, adjectiveun·feed·ing, adjective

Definition for feeding (2 of 2)

feed

[ feed ]

/ fid /

verb (used with object), fed, feed·ing.

to give food to; supply with nourishment: to feed a child.

to yield or serve as food for: This land has fed 10 generations.

to provide as food.

to furnish for consumption.

to satisfy; minister to; gratify: Poetry feeds the imagination.

to supply for maintenance or operation, as to a machine: to feed paper into a photocopier.

to provide with the necessary materials for development, maintenance, or operation: to feed a printing press with paper.

to use (land) as pasture.

Theater Informal.

to supply (an actor, especially a comedian) with lines or action, the responses to which are expected to elicit laughter.
to provide cues to (an actor).
Chiefly British. to prompt: Stand in the wings and feed them their lines.

Radio and Television. to distribute (a local broadcast) via satellite or network.

verb (used without object), fed, feed·ing.

(especially of animals) to take food; eat: cows feeding in a meadow; to feed well.

to be nourished or gratified; subsist: to feed on grass; to feed on thoughts of revenge.

noun

food, especially for farm animals, as cattle, horses or chickens.

an allowance, portion, or supply of such food.

Informal. a meal, especially a lavish one.

the act of feeding.

the act or process of feeding a furnace, machine, etc.

the material, or the amount of it, so fed or supplied.

a feeding mechanism.

Electricity. feeder(def 10).

Theater Informal.

a line spoken by one actor, the response to which by another actor is expected to cause laughter.
an actor, especially a straight man, who provides such lines.

a local television broadcast distributed by satellite or network to a much wider audience, especially nationwide or international.

Digital Technology.

a website or application that publishes updates from social media or news-collection websites in reverse chronological order: I follow all of the latest celebrity gossip in my Twitter feed.
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.

Origin of feed

before 950; Middle English feden, Old English fēdan; cognate with Gothic fodjan, Old Saxon fōdian. See food

SYNONYMS FOR feed

1, 2 nourish, sustain.

5 nurture, support, encourage, bolster.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR feed ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR feed

1, 2 starve.

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Related forms

feed·a·ble, adjectiveout·feed, verb (used with object), out·fed, out·feed·ing.re·feed, verb, re·fed, re·feed·ing.un·feed·a·ble, adjective

Synonym study

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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for feeding

Louisa also devotes much of her time to feeding underprivileged children in the desolate Kurland Village in South Africa.
These Female Contemporaries Weren’t Afraid of Virginia Woolf|Louisa Treger|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Porter was convicted and shortly after sentenced to death by a judge who compared him to a shark in a feeding frenzy.
Wrongly Imprisoned for 15 Years Thanks to an Innocence Project|Jacob Siegel|November 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He described going to their home, feeding their dogs, and growing worried.
Family's Best Friend Charged With Murdering Them All|Nina Strochlic|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With the help of mobility aids and a feeding tube, she lived well past her initial prognosis of death by age 4.
U.K. Courts Grant Mother Right to End Her 12-Year-Old Disabled Daughter’s Life|Elizabeth Picciuto|November 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Perhaps he had been feeding off the relative youth of Paul, who appeared in need of a long nap by this point.
Mitch McConnell’s Big Day: A Turtle Suns Himself|Olivia Nuzzi|November 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After feeding our animals, we descended the river till four o'clock, and halted on its banks for the night.
Early Western Travels 1748-1846, Volume 28|Various
Feed upon Him; that is the essential central requirement for all Christian life, and what does feeding on Him mean?
Expositions of Holy Scripture: Romans Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)|Alexander Maclaren
Her father's horse, that had borne him so many years, was feeding in the enclosure.
Delusion, or The Witch of New England|Eliza Buckminster Lee
They were making cocoa and feeding the boys out of the chalice-cups from the altar.
Leerie|Ruth Sawyer
They are thus aware when the feeding hour approaches, when they may go out in the open, etc.
Clever Hans|Oskar Pfungst

British Dictionary definitions for feeding

feed

/ (fiːd) /

verb feeds, feeding or fed (fɛd) (mainly tr)

to give food toto feed the cat

to give as foodto feed meat to the cat

(intr) to eat foodthe horses feed at noon

to provide food forthese supplies can feed 10 million people

to provide what is necessary for the existence or development ofto feed one's imagination

to gratify; satisfyto feed one's eyes on a beautiful sight

(also intr) 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

to use (land) as grazing

theatre informal to cue (an actor, esp a comedian) with lines or actions

sport to pass a ball to (a team-mate)

electronics to introduce (electrical energy) into a circuit, esp by means of a feeder

(also intr; foll by on or upon) to eat or cause to eat

noun

the act or an instance of feeding

food, esp that of animals or babies

the process of supplying a machine or furnace with a material or fuel

the quantity of material or fuel so supplied

computing a facility allowing web users to receive news headlines and updates on their browser from a website as soon as they are published

the rate of advance of a cutting tool in a lathe, drill, etc

a mechanism that supplies material or fuel or controls the rate of advance of a cutting tool

theatre informal a performer, esp a straight man, who provides cues

informal a meal

Derived Forms

feedable, adjective

Word Origin for feed

Old English fēdan; related to Old Norse fœtha to feed, Old High German fuotan, Gothic fōthjan; see food, fodder

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

Idioms and Phrases with feeding

feed

In addition to the idioms beginning with feed

feed one's face
feed someone a line
feed the kitty

also see:

bite the hand that feeds you
chicken feed
off one's feed
put on the feed bag

feeding

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of feeding

Related forms

Definition for feeding (2 of 2)

feed

verb (used with object), fed, feed·ing.

verb (used without object), fed, feed·ing.

noun

Origin of feed

SYNONYMS FOR feed

ANTONYMS FOR feed

Related forms

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for feeding

British Dictionary definitions for feeding

feed

verb feeds, feeding or fed (fɛd) (mainly tr)

noun

Derived Forms

Word Origin for feed

Idioms and Phrases with feeding

feed