hand-feed
Americanverb (used with object)
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Agriculture. to feed (animals) with apportioned amounts at regular intervals.
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to feed (an animal or person) by hand.
The students hand-fed the baby monkeys with an eyedropper.
Etymology
Origin of hand-feed
First recorded in 1795–1805
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:
Between shifts the sailors took turns to foster, hand-feed, and rear the little cats while searching for a new permanent home for them.
From BBC ● May 26, 2025
Two middle-aged men — a stablehand and a horse trainer who had reportedly tried to hand-feed the dying mare — developed flulike symptoms, too.
From New York Times ● Nov. 16, 2022
They’ll also provide healthy treats to hand-feed the four-legged hikers who will be available for petting and unlimited photo opportunities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2022
But never hand-feed an animal; you don’t want to get bitten or scratched.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 6, 2022
But when Beatrice refused to eat, I had to hand-feed her a few lumps of liver-flavored kibble.
From "Ungifted" by Gordon Korman
"We had a lovely video sent to us about the cows being hand-fed stale baguettes, everyone loved that video," Haywood added.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026
He and his wife hand-fed the animal until it was able to eat on its own.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 18, 2023
She injected fluids beneath the bats’ skin with a needle and syringe and hand-fed them a gruel made of mealworms, she said.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 30, 2022
Also, a zookeeper forms a bond with a Magellanic penguin chick that is reluctant to be hand-fed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2021
Ruva had just graduated from being hand-fed herself.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
I stop worrying about the declining health of my mother and other pressing issues when faced with the task of hand-feeding a young elephant seal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2024
Zoo staff will also condition the pair for hand-feeding as they transition away from regurgitated fish à la mom and dad.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
But if they bless you with something egregious, go for it: “I find it challenging when you’re in her lap and hand-feeding her like she’s an orphaned bird.”
From Washington Post ● Mar. 6, 2023
But hand-feeding a wild animal will probably end in tears, not likes.
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2022
With careful hand-feeding that in the beginning went around the clock, I was able to parrot-parent.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
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.
