(~s, ~ing, fed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
If you ~ 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...
In that part of the world you can ~ cattle on almost any green vegetable or fruit...
He spooned the ice cream into a cup and fed it to her.
VERB: V n, V n on/with n, V n to n, also V pron-refl
•
Feed is also a noun. (mainly BRIT)
She’s had a good ~.
N-COUNT
~ing
The ~ing of dairy cows has undergone a revolution.
N-UNCOUNT
2.
To ~ a family or a community means to supply food for them.
Feeding a hungry family can be expensive .
...a food reserve large enough to ~ the Sudanese population for many months.
VERB: V n, V n
3.
When an animal ~s, it eats or drinks something.
After a few days the caterpillars stopped ~ing...
Slugs ~ on decaying plant and animal material.
VERB: V, V on/off n
4.
When a baby ~s, or when you ~ it, it drinks breast milk or milk from a bottle.
When a baby is thirsty, it ~s more often...
I knew absolutely nothing about handling or ~ing a baby.
VERB: V, V n
5.
Animal ~ is food given to animals, especially farm animals.
The grain just rotted and all they could use it for was animal ~.
...poultry ~.
N-MASS: usu n N
6.
To ~ something to a place, means to supply it to that place in a steady flow.
...blood vessels that ~ blood to the brain.
...gas fed through pipelines.
VERB: V n prep, V n prep
7.
If you ~ something into a container or piece of equipment, you put it into it.
She was ~ing documents into a paper shredder.
VERB: V n prep
8.
If someone ~s you false or secret information, they deliberately tell it to you.
He was surrounded by people who fed him ghastly lies...
At least one British officer was ~ing him with classified information.
VERB: V n n, V n with n, also V n to n
9.
If you ~ a plant, you add substances to it to make it grow well.
Feed plants to encourage steady growth.
VERB: V n
10.
If one thing ~s on another, it becomes stronger as a result of the other thing’s existence.
The drinking and the guilt fed on each other.
VERB: V on n
11.
To ~ information into a computer means to gradually put it into it.
An automatic weather station ~s information on wind direction to the computer.
VERB: V n into/to n
12.
to bite the hand that ~s you : see bite
mouths to ~: see mouth