feed


Pronunciation

The IPA phonetic spelling for "feed" is /fiːd/.

  • /fiːd/


Word Form Variations

  • Base form/infinitive: feed

  • Third-person singular present: feeds

  • Present participle: feeding

  • Past tense: fed

  • Past participle: fed

  • Plural (noun): feeds



Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms

Verb

  1. To provide food for (a person or animal).

    • Synonyms: nourish, sustain, provide for, nurture

    • Antonyms: starve, deprive

    • Example: She carefully chose the right formula to feed her infant.

  2. To supply something to a machine, process, or system.

    • Synonyms: supply, input, insert, load

    • Antonyms: extract, remove, withdraw

    • Example: The printer will feed the paper automatically.

  3. To consume food; to eat.

    • Synonyms: eat, graze, dine, consume

    • Antonyms: fast, abstain

    • Example: The cows were feeding in the pasture.

  4. To satisfy a strong desire or need; to cater to.

    • Synonyms: satisfy, indulge, gratify, fuel

    • Antonyms: deny, suppress, starve

    • Example: He fed his addiction to thrill-seeking with extreme sports.

  5. To make a pass or set up a play in sports, especially in a way that allows a teammate to score.

    • Synonyms: pass, assist, set up, dish

    • Antonyms: withhold, obstruct

    • Example: The midfielder fed a perfect ball to the striker, who scored.

Noun

  1. Food, especially for animals.

    • Synonyms: fodder, provisions, sustenance, forage

    • Antonyms: waste, refuse

    • Example: The farmer bought a large sack of chicken feed.

  2. An act of providing food, especially for a baby.

    • Synonyms: meal, feeding, nourishment

    • Antonyms: starvation, fasting

    • Example: The baby was due for its next feed.

  3. A channel or stream of regularly updated content (e.g., news, social media posts) that is delivered to a user.

    • Synonyms: stream, flow, updates, content

    • Antonyms: archive, repository (in the sense of static content)

    • Example: She scrolled through her social media feed to catch up on the news.

  4. The act or process of supplying something to a machine or system.

    • Synonyms: supply, input, provision, insertion

    • Antonyms: extraction, removal

    • Example: The continuous feed of raw materials is essential for production.


Examples of Use

Books:

  • "He had to feed his family, and that meant long hours in the fields, rain or shine." (From a historical fiction novel depicting rural life, e.g., The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck)

  • "The old woman would often sit on her porch, watching the birds feed on the scattered crumbs." (From a descriptive passage in a literary novel, e.g., To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)

Newspapers:

  • "Farmers are concerned about the rising cost of animal feed, which could impact meat prices." (Headline or article excerpt from a financial or agricultural newspaper, e.g., The Wall Street Journal or a local agricultural publication)

  • "New policy aims to feed all students breakfast and lunch, addressing food insecurity." (News report from a local or national newspaper, e.g., The New York Times or The Guardian)

Online Publications:

  • "How to Feed Your Dog a Balanced Diet: A Comprehensive Guide" (Article title from a pet care blog or veterinary website, e.g., PetMD.com)

  • "The algorithm continues to feed users content designed to maximize engagement, sometimes at the expense of accuracy." (Opinion piece or analysis from a technology news site, e.g., Wired.com or TechCrunch)

  • "Our live feed will bring you real-time updates from the election results." (Announcement on a news website's live blog, e.g., BBC News Live)

Various Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:

  • Television Series (Dialogue): "Don't forget to feed the cat before you leave!" (Common line in a family sitcom or drama, e.g., Friends or Modern Family)

  • Film (Scene Description/Dialogue): A scene where a character is seen hand-feeding a baby bird. Or a character says, "We need to feed this information to the system to get an accurate prediction." (From a thriller or sci-fi film)

  • Video Games: "You need to feed the dragon these special gems to gain its trust." (Instruction or quest objective in a fantasy role-playing game, e.g., The Elder Scrolls series)

  • Social Media (User Post): "Just scrolling through my Instagram feed and saw the most amazing travel photos!" (A user's personal update on a platform like Instagram or Facebook)

  • Music (Song Lyrics): "You feed my soul with your love, keeping me strong." (Line from a romantic or inspirational song)

General Public Discourse:

  • "I need to feed the meter before my parking runs out." (Everyday conversation about parking)

  • "The constant negative news can really feed into people's anxieties." (Discussion about mental well-being and media consumption)

  • "Let's feed off each other's energy during the brainstorming session." (A phrase used in collaborative work or sports to describe drawing inspiration or motivation from others)



10 Famous Quotes Using Feed

  1. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." (Maimonides, often attributed to Lao Tzu)

  2. "The unexamined life is not worth living." (Socrates, often interpreted as the mind needing intellectual "feed")

  3. "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you feed them a system that makes them immune to consequences." (A paraphrasing of Lord Acton's famous quote to incorporate "feed")

  4. "Laughter is the best medicine." (Proverb, implying it "feeds" joy and well-being)

  5. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4, from the Bible, implying spiritual "feed")

  6. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." (Edmund Burke, which can be interpreted as allowing evil to "feed" and grow)

  7. "Where there is no vision, the people perish." (Proverbs 29:18, suggesting that vision "feeds" progress and hope)

  8. "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind." (Mahatma Gandhi, implying that retaliation "feeds" a cycle of violence)

  9. "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." (Plutarch, suggesting that education "feeds" the spark of curiosity)

  10. "If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to gather wood, give them tasks and divide the work. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, implying that a sense of purpose "feeds" motivation)


Etymology

The word "feed" has a long and interesting history, tracing its roots all the way back to an ancient language.

At its core, "feed" comes from the Old English word "fēdan." This word meant "to nourish," "to give food to," "to sustain," or "to foster." So, its very first known meaning was directly about providing nourishment, especially in a way that helps something grow or thrive.

If we go even further back, "fēdan" itself came from a common ancestor of many Germanic languages (like Dutch, German, and Old Norse), called Proto-Germanic, where it was "fodjan."

And before that, it's believed to have originated from an even older, fundamental language called Proto-Indo-European (PIE). The PIE root was "pa-," which broadly meant "to feed" or "to protect." This shows how deeply ingrained the concept of providing sustenance is in the history of human language.

So, the very first known use and meaning of "feed" (as a verb) was essentially "to give food to" or "to nourish," going back to the Old English period, which is roughly before the year 1150. Over time, the word expanded to include not just giving food to living beings, but also supplying materials to machines or even satisfying desires. The noun form of "feed" (meaning "food for animals" or "an act of feeding") appeared later, around the late 1500s.



Phrases + Idioms Containing Feed

  • Feed the meter: To put money into a parking meter.

  • Feed a habit/addiction: To supply what is needed to maintain a habit or addiction.

  • Feed a line (to someone): To give false or misleading information, often to deceive.

  • Feed the fire/flames: To add fuel to an existing problem or conflict, making it worse.

  • Feed into (something): To contribute to or strengthen a particular outcome, idea, or feeling.

  • Feed on (something): To use something as a source of nourishment, energy, or support (literally or figuratively).

  • Feed a cold, starve a fever: An old wives' tale about how to deal with illness (meaning eat when you have a cold, don't eat when you have a fever).

  • Feed the beast: To keep a large or demanding system, machine, or even an organization running by constantly supplying it with what it needs.

  • To feed one's face: A colloquial and somewhat informal way to say to eat.

  • Feed the kitty: To contribute money to a communal fund or collection.

  • Don't bite the hand that feeds you: Don't harm or turn against someone who supports or provides for you.

  • Feed one's ego: To do or say things that make someone feel more important or superior.

  • To feed off (someone's energy/ideas): To draw energy, inspiration, or ideas from another person.

  • Force-feed (information/ideas): To try to make someone accept information or ideas that they are reluctant to receive or understand.

  • Happy as a pig in mud: (Using a synonym for "feed" - implying something enjoying its environment, where "mud" might be what "feeds" a pig's comfort).


Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA


Source Information

Definition of feed from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.


Previous
Previous

excellent

Next
Next

doing