to feed on
69
2.9
- phrasal verb
- /fiːd ɒn/
:
alimentarse de
- For thousands of years, boll weevils fed on wild tropical cotton in Central and South America.
- feed on insects
- feed on invertebrates
- feed on blood
Like swarms of mosquitoes are just feeding on people's open wounds.
- Like swarms of mosquitoes are just feeding on people's open wounds.
- Two horses are feeding on the bark of a tree.
- Cavities are caused by bacteria that feed on sugar.
- And so it would AI feeds on the output of brain power from humans.
- And these are parasites that live in the soil, and they feed on bad bugs.
- Again, fibre is what our microbes feed on.
- The you know, Big Brother can only grow if it can feed on your data.
- Or do the fish learn to become a specialist in feeding on the left side and the right side.
- What what you're describing to me is a kind of learned helplessness and it feeds on lack of momentum.
- You're seeding your microbiome with a certain type of, of microbiota, right, that feed on that type of food.
- So the fires that are there are no longer feeding on that previously burned and managed landscape.
- The bacteria and fungi found in your soil actually will go and feed on those, on those materials and break them down.
- But the automaton is growing, changing, and maybe even still feeding on the original words of the founding father.
Examples
-
And these are parasites that live in the soil, and they feed on bad bugs.
-
But what these kids feed on is the ego of the parents.
-
And there are lots of things that feed on these bacteria.
-
No doubt it feeds on marine life, too.
-
And there are voices out there who will feed on that and pull him into directions that are not good for him.
-
It's the little algae and then the little things that feed on that, the fish, the seals, and then the polar bears.
-
The F. francolinus feeds normally on insects and is remembered as "a farmer's friend."
Academic text (2015) -
As they go to and from the water to feed on grasses, they may contribute to the river's degradation.
Academic text (2011) -
By tracking pollen types, we can determine that they've been feeding on specific plants in specific areas.
Academic text (1994) -
Many animals feed on plants and insects to survive.
Synonyms
77
3.9
Rely on someone, a job, or savings for the food and money you need
34
3.7
To take energy from something, like food or attention
To get ideas or energy from something to help your work
Antonyms
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to eat or be sustained by X' is directly derivable from combining 'feed' (to eat or nourish) with the preposition 'on', which signals the source or basis; a B1 learner who knows both words can infer this compositionally. This verb+preposition pattern is a common, cross-linguistic way to mark what something eats or relies on, so even the figurative senses remain largely interpretable.
Etymology
Feed on comes from a simple picture: an animal eats a certain food, for example a bird feeds on seeds or a fox feeds on mice. By the same idea, people can 'feed on' ideas, support, or excitement, meaning they get energy or help from those things, so the phrase also means 'to be supported or inspired by'.