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
Or imagine, going forward, what 7-foot-4 center Victor Wembanyama could be capable of if the San Antonio Spurs force-feed him offensively for a full game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026
There was a natural tendency in Week 1 for teams that acquired elite veteran receivers to force-feed their new weapons.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 17, 2022
His teammates nearly tripped over themselves at times in an effort to force-feed him the puck.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2022
“Gone are the days whereby you can force-feed me only American content,” Abudu said.
From New York Times ● Sep. 23, 2021
Even with the nectar and ambrosia they’d managed to force-feed him, Piper couldn’t be sure he would be okay when he woke up.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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
We, the fans, are the people who have been force-fed mistake after mistake.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
They’re not given tools for critical thinking, but force-fed ready-made schemes for perceiving the world.
From Slate ● Oct. 18, 2025
He made some tea, carried it upstairs, force-fed Inigo.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
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
Lucy Burns had experienced force-feeding in England, so she knew what to expect.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
