feed

To give a person or animal food to eat.

• Please feed the cat.
• She fed the baby before leaving.
• Have you fed the birds today?

How to use it: feed someone/something something (She fed the dog some chicken.); feed something to someone/something (He fed a carrot to the rabbit.)

Similar words: nourish

Opposites: starve

Common phrases: feed the baby, feed the dog, feed someone something

If an animal does this, it eats food.

• The cows feed in the field.
• The birds fed on seeds near the gate.
• Some insects feed only at night.

How to use it: feed on something (These birds feed on small insects.)

Similar words: eat

Common phrases: feed on grass, feed at night, birds feed

To put material or information into a machine so it can work on it.

• Feed one sheet into the printer.
• She fed the documents through the scanner.
• The program feeds new data into the system every hour.

How to use it: feed something into something (Feed the paper into the printer.); feed something through something (Feed each sheet through the scanner.)

Similar words: input

Common phrases: feed paper in, feed something into, feed a machine

To keep supplying something with what it needs, such as water, power, or information.

• Several streams feed the lake.
• The cable feeds power to the building.
• Local reporters fed information to the newsroom.

How to use it: feed something with something (The spring feeds the pond with fresh water.); feed something to something (The wires feed electricity to the lights.)

Similar words: supply, provide

Common phrases: feed a river, feed the system, feed something with

To let farm animals eat the plants growing on a piece of land.

• They fed the pasture with cattle.
• The farmer fed the young crop with sheep.
• These fields were once fed with village livestock.

How to use it: feed something with something (The farmer fed the field with sheep.)

Similar words: graze

Common phrases: feed a field, feed with sheep, feed the pasture

Food given to farm animals, pets, or birds.

• We need more chicken feed.
• The farmer bought three bags of cattle feed.
• Keep the feed dry so it stays fresh.

Similar words: fodder

Common phrases: animal feed, cattle feed, chicken feed

A continuous supply of information, pictures, sound, or material from a source.

• We watched a live video feed.
• The satellite feed stopped during the storm.
• She checks several news feeds each morning.

How to use it: feed from something (We watched a live feed from the camera.); feed of something (The website provides a feed of local news.)

Similar words: stream

Common phrases: live feed, video feed, satellite feed

The part of a machine that moves material into it for processing.

• The paper feed is broken.
• Dust had blocked the printer’s feed.
• This machine has an automatic feed for metal sheets.

Similar words: feeder

Common phrases: paper feed, automatic feed, feed mechanism