feed (feeds plural & 3rd person present) (feeding present participle) (fed past tense & past participle )
1 verb If you feed a person or animal, you give them food to eat and sometimes actually put it in their mouths.
We brought along pieces of old bread and fed the birds... V n
In that part of the world you can feed cattle on almost any green vegetable or fruit... V n on/with n
He spooned the ice cream into a cup and fed it to her. V n to n, Also V pron-refl
Feed is also a noun. (mainly BRIT) n-count
She's had a good feed.
feeding n-uncount
The feeding of dairy cows has undergone a revolution.
2 verb To feed a family or a community means to supply food for them.
Feeding a hungry family can be expensive . V n
...a food reserve large enough to feed the Sudanese population for many months. V n
3 verb When an animal feeds, it eats or drinks something.
After a few days the caterpillars stopped feeding... V
Slugs feed on decaying plant and animal material. V on/off n
4 verb When a baby feeds, or when you feed it, it drinks breast milk or milk from a bottle.
When a baby is thirsty, it feeds more often... V
I knew absolutely nothing about handling or feeding a baby. V n
5 n-mass Animal feed is food given to animals, especially farm animals.
usu n N
The grain just rotted and all they could use it for was animal feed., ...poultry feed.
6 verb To feed something to a place, means to supply it to that place in a steady flow.
...blood vessels that feed blood to the brain. V n prep
...gas fed through pipelines. V n prep
7 verb If you feed something into a container or piece of equipment, you put it into it.
She was feeding documents into a paper shredder. V n prep
8 verb If someone feeds you false or secret information, they deliberately tell it to you.
He was surrounded by people who fed him ghastly lies... V n n
At least one British officer was feeding him with classified information. V n with n, Also V n to n
9 verb If you feed a plant, you add substances to it to make it grow well.
Feed plants to encourage steady growth. V n
10 verb If one thing feedson another, it becomes stronger as a result of the other thing's existence.
The drinking and the guilt fed on each other. V on n
11 verb To feed information into a computer means to gradually put it into it.
An automatic weather station feeds information on wind direction to the computer. V n into/to n
12 →
to bite the hand that feeds you →
bite →
mouths to feed →
mouth
bottle-feed (bottle-feeds 3rd person present) (bottle-feeding present participle) (bottle-fed past tense & past participle )If you bottle-feed a baby, you give it milk or a liquid like milk in a bottle rather than the baby sucking milk from its mother's breasts. verb
(Antonym: breast feed)
New fathers love bottle feeding their babies. V n
...a bottle-fed baby. V-ed
breast-feed (breast-feeds 3rd person present) (breast-feeding present participle) (breast-fed past tense & past participle ), breastfeed, breast feed When a woman breast-feeds her baby, she feeds it with milk from her breasts, rather than from a bottle. verb
(=suckle)
Not all women have the choice whether or not to breast feed their babies... V n
Leading scientists claim breast-fed babies are intellectually brighter. V-ed, Also V
breast-feeding n-uncount
There are many advantages to breast feeding.
chicken feed , chickenfeed
If you think that an amount of money is so small it is hardly worth having or considering, you can say that it is chicken feed. n-uncount
(=peanuts)
I was making a million a year, but that's chicken feed in the pop business.
force-feed (force-feeds 3rd person present) (force-feeding present participle) (force-fed past tense & past participle )If you force-feed a person or animal, you make them eat or drink by pushing food or drink down their throat. verb
Production of the foie gras pâté involves force-feeding geese and ducks so that their livers swell. V n
spoon-feed (spoon-feeds 3rd person present) (spoon-feeding present participle) (spoon-fed past tense & past participle )
1 verb If you think that someone is being given too much help with something and is not making enough effort themselves, you can say they are being spoon-fed.
usu passive (disapproval)
Students are unwilling to really work. They want to be spoon-fed... be V-ed
2 verb If you say that someone is spoon-fed ideas or information, you mean that they are told about them and are expected to accept them without questioning them.
usu passive (disapproval)
They were less willing to be spoon-fed doctrines from Japan... be V-ed n
3 verb If you spoon-feed a small child or a sick person, you feed them using a spoon.
It took two years for me to get better, during which time he spoon-fed me and did absolutely everything around the house. V n
