FEED | Definition and Meaning

Definition of Feed

Feed

Definition/Meaning

(verb)

To give food to a person, animal, or plant.

e.g. The farmer will feed the chickens in the morning.

(verb)

to promote the growth or development of something, typically by providing it with something, often figuratively;

e.g. You can feed a habit of reading by keeping yourself surrounded by books.

(verb)

broadly, to provide a continuous supply of something, for example to insert some material or fuel into a machine or to deliver ideas of information to someone;

e.g. He started to feed the fire with wood so that it would keep burning. She tried to feed me advice and encouragement but I was too nervous to hear her.

(verb)

to pass through a space, or to cause something to do this;

e.g. The line of people started to feed through the door into the hallway outside. I tried to feed the wire through the tiny hole.

(noun)

food meant for domesticated animals, especially livestock;

e.g. The feed given to hens often affects the kind of eggs they lay.

(noun)

the action or instance of giving food to a baby or an animal, or the action or instance of taking in food;

e.g. After his feed, the baby will be put down for a nap.

(noun)

a mechanism for providing a constant supply of material to a device or machine, or the material thus supplied;

e.g. The printer has a jammed paper feed which is causing it to beep loudly. The clog disrupted the feed of fuel to the engine.

(noun)

a capability of an Internet service such as a website or a social media platform to show a continuous stream of new content as it is added or updated;

e.g. Her wedding pictures showed up on my feed, which is how I found out she had gotten married.