feeding

UK: /ˈfiːdɪŋ/ US: (fē′ding)

From the verb feed: (⇒ conjugate)

feeding is: ⓘ

v pres p

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

feed•ing  (fē′ding), n. 

1. Animal Husbandry the act of a person or thing that feeds.
2. Animal Husbandry an instance of eating or of taking or being given nourishment.
3. grazing land.

• Middle English feding, Old English fēding. See feed, -ing¹ bef. 900

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

feed /fid/   v., fed/fɛd/  feed•ing, n. 
v. 

1. to give food to;
   supply with nourishment:
   [~ + object] She liked to feed pigeons.
2. to provide as food: [ ~ + obj + to + obj]:
   to feed breadcrumbs to pigeons.
   [ ~ + obj + obj]:
   to feed the pigeons some breadcrumbs.
3. Animal Husbandry (esp. of animals) to take food;
   eat:
   [no object] The cows were feeding.
4. to be nourished;
   live by eating:
   [~ + on + object] Those bats feed on fruit.
5. to yield or serve as food for:
   [~ + object] This land has fed ten generations.

n. 

6. Animal Husbandry food, esp. for farm animals:
   [uncountable] grain feed.
7. [countable] a meal, esp. a lavish one.
8. a feeding mechanism:
   [countable] a printer tractor feed.

feed•er, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

feed  (fēd), v., fed, feed•ing, n. 
v.t. 

1. to give food to;
   supply with nourishment:
   to feed a child.
2. to yield or serve as food for:
   This land has fed 10 generations.
3. to provide as food.
4. to furnish for consumption.
5. to satisfy;
   minister to;
   gratify:
   Poetry feeds the imagination.
6. to supply for maintenance or operation, as to a machine:
   to feed paper into a photocopier.
7. to provide with the necessary materials for development, maintenance, or operation:
   to feed a printing press with paper.
8. to use (land) as pasture.
9. [Theat. Informal.]
   • to supply (an actor, esp. a comedian) with lines or action, the responses to which are expected to elicit laughter.
   • to provide cues to (an actor).
   • [Chiefly Brit.] to prompt:
     Stand in the wings and feed them their lines.
10. Radio and Television to distribute (a local broadcast) via satellite or network.

v.i. 

11. (esp. of animals) to take food;
    eat:
    cows feeding in a meadow; to feed well.
12. to be nourished or gratified;
    subsist:
    to feed on grass; to feed on thoughts of revenge.
13. chain feed, to pass (work) successively into a machine in such a manner that each new piece is held in place by or connected to the one before.

n. 

14. food, esp. for farm animals, as cattle, horses or chickens.
15. an allowance, portion, or supply of such food.
16. [Informal.] a meal, esp. a lavish one.
17. the act of feeding.
18. the act or process of feeding a furnace, machine, etc.
19. the material, or the amount of it, so fed or supplied.
20. a feeding mechanism.
21. [Elect.] feeder (def. 10).
22. [Theat. Informal.]
    • a line spoken by one actor, the response to which by another actor is expected to cause laughter.
    • an actor, esp. a straight man, who provides such lines.
23. Radio and Television a local television broadcast distributed by satellite or network to a much wider audience, esp. nationwide or international.
24. off one's feed, [Slang.]
    • reluctant to eat;
      without appetite.
    • dejected;
      sad.
    • not well;
      ill.

• bef. 950; Middle English feden, Old English fēdan; cognate with Gothic fodjan, Old Saxon fōdian. See food

feed′a•ble, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1, 2. nourish, sustain.
• 5. nurture, support, encourage, bolster.
• 14. Feed, fodder, forage, provender mean food for animals.
  Feed is the general word:
  pig feed; chicken feed.
  Fodder is esp. applied to dry or green feed, as opposed to pasturage, fed to horses, cattle, etc.:
  fodder for winter feeding; Cornstalks are good fodder.
  Forage is food that an animal obtains (usually grass, leaves, etc.) by searching about for it:
  Lost cattle can usually live on forage.
  Provender denotes dry feed, such as hay, oats, or corn:
  a supply of provender in the haymow and corn cribs.

Antonyms

1, 2. starve.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

feed / fiːd/ verb (feeds, feeding, fed / fɛd/)(mainly tr)

1. to give food to: to feed the cat
2. to give as food: to feed meat to the cat
3. (intransitive) to eat food: the horses feed at noon
4. to provide food for
5. to gratify; satisfy
6. (also intr) to supply (a machine, furnace, etc) with (the necessary materials or fuel) for its operation, or (of such materials) to flow or move forwards into a machine, etc
7. to cue (an actor, esp a comedian) with lines or actions
8. to pass a ball to (a team-mate)
9. (also intr; followed by on or upon) to eat or cause to eat

noun

1. the act or an instance of feeding
2. food, esp that of animals or babies
3. the process of supplying a machine or furnace with a material or fuel
4. the quantity of material or fuel so supplied
5. a facility allowing web users to receive news headlines and updates on their browser from a website as soon as they are published
6. a performer, esp a straight man, who provides cues
7. a meal

Etymology: Old English fēdan; related to Old Norse fœtha to feed, Old High German fuotan, Gothic fōthjan; see food, fodder

ˈfeedable adjective