Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🍽️ To give food 🔗 To supply 🦁 To eat 📱 Content stream 🐄 Animal food 🌊 To flow into
to feed

to feed

426 1.0
To eat food, especially for animals
  • verb
  • /fiːd/
translation icon : alimentarse de
  • The small ones all feed at low tide in the shallow water.
  • birds feed
  • feed on fish
  • feed on insects

So the fish have to feed, have to survive, have to spawn.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • The dogs and cats had to learn to feed themselves, so they became good hunters.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Does it feed on me now?

    Grieve (2023)

  • We're a lot easier to feed than the fast food world.

  • We finally have a leader who wants to feed our people.

    Play Dirty (2025)

  • Did they feed you? - Did you drink too much coffee?

    The Big White (2005)

  • So the fish have to feed, have to survive, have to spawn.

    Harvard University

  • He's hungry, and we've got to feed him.

    Bringing Up Baby (1938)

  • The nymph and adult stages of the tick will feed on larger mammals, including humans.

    Academic text (2011)

  • On average, it takes 43 ringed seals a year to feed one polar bear, according to Stirling.

    Academic text (2012)

  • The elephants in the sanctuary feed on hay and vegetables provided by the staff.

Synonyms

to eat
vsto feed
∞ 1.0

Put food or drink into your mouth, chew it and swallow it

is specifically the animal action of taking in food
to feed on
vsto feed
69 2.9

To eat something or get strength and ideas from it

is the basic animal act of taking in food rather than focus on source
to graze
vsto feed
35 2.5

Let animals eat grass in a field

is the general animal action of taking in food, not only grass
to feed upon
vsto feed
6.0

To get ideas or energy from something to help your work

is the straightforward animal action of taking in food, not mainly abstract

Antonyms

to fast
58 4.6

To not eat or drink for a time

Idioms

to feed the troll
  • Slang
1 8.3

To reply to someone online who tries to start arguments, making them continue

feed me that bullplop
  • Offensive
9.9

To say lies or nonsense to trick someone

off one's feed
  • Informal
9.9

Feeling unwell and not wanting to eat or do usual things

off one's feed
  • Texting
9.9

Not checking social media feeds or posts for a time

Phrasal Verbs

to feed on
69 2.9

To eat something or get strength and ideas from it

to feed off
34 3.7

To take energy from something, like food or attention

to feed into
23 4.1

To give information or ideas that change something

to force-feed
  • Offensive
10 6.5

To make someone eat by using physical strength when they refuse

to feed off each other
4 5.1

To get energy or ideas from each other's actions

to feed the meter
4 3.2

To put money into a parking meter to pay for parking

to feed the duck
3 1.0

To give food to ducks at a park or pond for fun

to feed the fire
2 4.8

To put extra fuel on a fire or make a disagreement worse

to feed in
  • Specialized
1 3.8

To keep putting something into a machine or system so it can work

to drip feed
1 4.9

To give news or information slowly in small amounts to influence what people think

to drip-feed
6.1

To give information or supplies slowly in small amounts over time

to feed back
  • Specialized
3.5

To send data again to a computer program for more analysis

to feed back
3.6

To give comments or information about something to the people involved

to feed upon
6.0

To get ideas or energy from something to help your work

Compounds

feed grain
  • Specialized
1 3.3

Seeds of crops like corn or barley that farmers grow to feed animals

chicken feed
1 2.8

Food given to chickens, usually dry mash

chicken feed
  • Informal
1 6.8

A very small amount of money that is not important

corn gluten feed
  • Specialized
1 4.5

A coarse food for farm animals like cattle made from parts left after making corn products

bird feed
1.4

Food for birds, usually a mix of seeds and grains

creep feed
  • Specialized
6.8

Special food given to young animals like piglets or calves that adults cannot reach

drip feed
  • Specialized
4.6

A way of giving liquid into a vein one drop at a time

feed steamer
  • Archaic
9.9

A machine that uses steam to soften and warm animal feed before giving it to animals

feed bunk
  • Jargon
6.3

A long raised container that holds food for cows

force-feed lubricating system
  • Specialized
6.5

A system that uses a pump to push oil under pressure into an engine's moving parts

line feed
  • Specialized
6.3

A character that moves text to the start of the next line

paper feed
4.1

A part that automatically pushes sheets of paper into a printer

pressure feed
  • Specialized
5.4

A system that uses a pump to push oil to engine bearings

pressure-feed lubricating system
  • Specialized
7.8

A system where a pump pushes oil under pressure to engine bearings to stop metal parts rubbing

How Much

to gorge
12 5.9
to feed
426 1.0
to graze
5 3.8
peck
8 1.4

Surface Forms

feed infinitive
feeding present participle
feeds third person singular
fed past
fed past participle

Etymology

The word feed also had the simple sense 'take food', so when an animal feeds it means it eats or takes in food.