force feed
noun
lubrication under pressure, as from a pump, used especially in internal-combustion engines.
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force feed
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force-feed
force-feedverb (used with object)to compel to take food, especially by means of a tube inserted into the throat.
force feed
1 Americannoun
force-feed
2
American
[fawrs-feed, fohrs-]
/ ˈfɔrsˈfid, ˈfoʊrs- /
verb (used with object)
force-fed,
force-feeding
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to compel to take food, especially by means of a tube inserted into the throat.
They force-fed the prisoners in the hunger strike.
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to compel to absorb or assimilate.
The recruits were force-fed a military attitude.
force-feed
British
verb
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to force (a person or animal) to eat or swallow food
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to force (someone) to receive opinions, propaganda, etc
noun
Etymology
Origin of force feed1
First recorded in 1915–20
Origin of force-feed2
First recorded in 1905–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“You don’t generally convince senators by trying to force feed them,” Kennedy said in an interview.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2022
Limiting Patterson is hard, though, as the Falcons continue to force feed their breakout playmaker with so many touches that he’s tied for the sixth-most touchdowns from scrimmage.
From New York Times ● Dec. 16, 2021
Fangio said he’s certain his fiery first-round draft pick will use the letdown as kindling for a prosperous career, but he’s not going to force feed him the ball Sunday.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 31, 2020
Yeast also needs to consume sugar gradually—a production plant can’t force feed the cells at a faster clip.
From Slate ● Apr. 15, 2020
“You’ll have to force feed her—strong soup and eggs and cod liver oil.”
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
Later, his mother tries, and fails, to force-feed her oblivious son the libretto for “Fat.”
From New York Times ● Nov. 3, 2022
His teammates nearly tripped over themselves at times in an effort to force-feed him the puck.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2022
Still, watching the International Olympic Committee put the Games on a fork and force-feed them to the resistant toddler that was Japan, well, it drove home the point about who’s actually in power here.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 8, 2021
I text back "I'm really sorry I tried to force-feed you Weetabix".
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2020
“We’ll have to force-feed him,” Inigo said, unwrapping the chocolate-colored lump.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
It was a funny rebuke to the force-fed notion that sports champions are these locked-in super computers with scrupulous attention to detail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
McDonald, who wrote the bestseller, “A Colossal Failure of Common Sense,” said tech representation in the S&P 500 is so high that retail investors are being force-fed the sector.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
That’s what I want too — I want to see some humanity, especially these days when everybody is being force-fed so much perfection and so much unattainable grace.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
They’re not given tools for critical thinking, but force-fed ready-made schemes for perceiving the world.
From Slate ● Oct. 18, 2025
We were being force-fed last year’s pickled peaches to make way for this year’s.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
He said that in the wild, ducks gorge before migration and store fat in their livers and argues that "gavage" -- the process of force-feeding -- is a traditional means of animal husbandry.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Today, producers are concentrated in the eastern provinces of Shandong and Anhui, where farmers churn out thousands of tons of foie gras by force-feeding ducks and geese to enlarge their livers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
The primary means by which Meta has encouraged adoption of its A.I. can be generously described as digital force-feeding.
From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2025
An Instagram post by Navalny about his hunger strike ordeal employed the biting tone to which his followers were accustomed, describing how a prison official “detailed the joys of force-feeding to me.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2024
At the same time that he was force-feeding us tribalism we were learning other ways of life, modern ways, from mingling with children whose parents had shed their tribal cloth and embraced Western culture.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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