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definitions

underfeed

[uhn-der-feed for 1; uhn-der-feed for 2]
See more synonyms for underfeed on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), un·der·fed, un·der·feed·ing.
  1. to feed insufficiently.
  2. to feed with fuel from beneath.

Origin of underfeed

First recorded in 1650–60; under- + feed
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for underfed

famished, hungry, skinny, thin, malnourished

Examples from the Web for underfed

Contemporary Examples of underfed

Historical Examples of underfed

  • He has been lonely and underfed, and at the first there was considerable pain.

    The Love Affairs of Pixie

    Mrs George de Horne Vaizey

  • I ain't sure of the word, but I believe that means thin-blooded or underfed.

    Rimrock Trail

    J. Allan Dunn

  • Poor, underfed and oversmart children; ready-witted and half-witted.

    Crimes of Charity

    Konrad Bercovici

  • Their cattle are not allowed to be overworked, or underfed, or abused in any way.

  • "I take it that you refer to the odor that comes from underfed bodies," I remarked.

    The Iron Ration

    George Abel Schreiner

British Dictionary definitions for underfed

underfeed

verb (ˌʌndəˈfiːd) -feeds, -feeding or -fed (tr)
  1. to give too little food to
  2. to supply (a furnace, engine, etc) with fuel from beneath
noun (ˈʌndəˌfiːd)
  1. an apparatus by which fuel, etc, is supplied from below
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