food

[food]

noun

any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc.

more or less solid nourishment, as distinguished from liquids.

a particular kind of solid nourishment: a breakfast food; dog food.

whatever supplies nourishment to organisms: plant food.

anything serving for consumption or use: food for thought.

Origin of food

before 1000; Middle English fode, Old English fōda; compare Old English fēdan, Gothic fōdjan to feed; cf. fodder, foster

Related formsfood·less, adjectivefood·less·ness, nounnon·food, noun, adjective

Synonyms for food

1. nutriment, aliment, bread, sustenance, victuals; meat, viands; diet, menu.

Synonym study

1. Food, fare, provisions, ration ( s ) all refer to nutriment. Food is the general word: Breakfast foods have become very popular. Many animals prefer grass as food. Fare refers to the whole range of foods that may nourish a person or animal: an extensive bill of fare; The fare of some animals is limited in range. Provisions is applied to a store or stock of necessary things, especially food, prepared beforehand: provisions for a journey. Ration implies an allotment or allowance of provisions: a daily ration for each man of a company. Rations often means food in general: to be on short rations.

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

Examples from the Web for foodless

Contemporary Examples of foodless

The act finishes with Commendatore crashing a foodless and propless feast—“You invited me to supper, and I have arrived!”
Don Giovanni in Los Angeles: Mozart Meets the Future
Isabel Wilkinson
May 20, 2012

Historical Examples of foodless

For 24 hours I had been foodless, and was now quite exhausted.
My Reminiscences of the Anglo-Boer War
Ben Viljoen.
The last day of the year dawned and I spent it foodless, friendless, solitary.
A Tramp's Notebook
Morley Roberts
The beavers must escape from their now foodless prison or perish.
Watched by Wild Animals
Enos A. Mills
Unarmed and foodless, how shall he ever succeed in finding his way back to safety?
Forging the Blades
Bertram Mitford
If we could not get a boat we must remain in that foodless forest until we starved.
Allan and the Holy Flower
H. Rider Haggard

British Dictionary definitions for foodless

food

noun

any substance containing nutrients, such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, that can be ingested by a living organism and metabolized into energy and body tissueRelated adjective: alimentary

nourishment in more or less solid form as opposed to liquid formfood and drink

anything that provides mental nourishment or stimulusfood for thought

Derived Formsfoodless, adjective

Word Origin for food

Old English fōda; related to Old Frisian fōdia to nourish, feed, Old Norse fœthi, Gothic fōdeins food; see feed, 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

Word Origin and History for foodless

food

Old English foda "food, nourishment; fuel," also figurative, from Proto-Germanic *fodon (cf. Gothic fodeins), from Germanic root *fod-, equivalent of PIE *pa- "to tend, keep, pasture, to protect, to guard, to feed" (cf. Greek pateisthai "to feed;" Latin pabulum "food, fodder," panis "bread," pasci "to feed," pascare "to graze, pasture, feed," pastor "shepherd," literally "feeder;" Avestan pitu- "food;" Old Church Slavonic pasti "feed cattle, pasture;" Russian pishcha "food").

Food chain is from 1917. Food poisoning attested by 1864; food processor in the kitchen appliance sense from 1973.

foodless in Medicine

food

[fōōd]

n.

Material, usually of plant or animal origin, that contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals, and is ingested and assimilated by an organism to produce energy, stimulate growth, and maintain life.