to compel to take food, especially by means of a tube inserted into the throat.
They force-fed the prisoners in the hunger strike.
to compel to absorb or assimilate.
The recruits were force-fed a military attitude.
to force (a person or animal) to eat or swallow food
to force (someone) to receive opinions, propaganda, etc
First recorded in 1915–20
First recorded in 1905–10
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Acknowledging Jackson’s potential, coaches “tried to force feed him a little bit when we could,” Grinch said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2023
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
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
“Gone are the days whereby you can force-feed me only American content,” Abudu said.
From New York Times ● Sep. 23, 2021
I text back "I'm really sorry I tried to force-feed you Weetabix".
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2020
Deborah Frances-White’s screenplay relies on the recurrent mention of Mary’s multiple identities to force-feed these platitudes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2019
Both he and Nemur looked disturbed as they watched Burt force-feed him.
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
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
They’re not given tools for critical thinking, but force-fed ready-made schemes for perceiving the world.
From Slate ● Oct. 18, 2025
Taylor Bradford was born in Leeds, where her mother "force-fed me books", and young Barbara had her first story published at the age of 10 in a children’s magazine.
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2024
Floating around in WALL-E pods imbibing our own bespoke distractions like force-fed ducks is a far cry from the exciting future our tech advancements can promise.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2024
The Summer Session—a few dozen boys being force-fed education, a stopgap while most of the masters were away and most of the traditions stored against sultriness—the Summer Session was over.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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 Colonel and the King” debunks some of the most stubborn myths about Parker, refuting the notion that Parker destroyed Elvis’ career by force-feeding awful material down his throat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025
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
This was in response to the treatment of suffragettes in prison, including the force-feeding of hunger strikers.
From Salon ● Mar. 30, 2023
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.
