feed (f?d) v. fed (f?d), feed·ing, feeds v. tr. 1. a. To give food to; supply with nourishment: feed the children. b. To provide as food or nourishment: fed fish to the cat. 2. a. To serve as food for: The turkey is large enough to feed a dozen. b. To produce food for: The valley feeds an entire county. 3. a. To provide for consumption, utilization, or operation: feed logs to a fire; feed data into a computer. b. To supply with something essential for growth, maintenance, or operation: Melting snow feeds the reservoirs. c. To transmit (media content) by means of a communications network or satellite, as for processing or distribution. 4. a. To minister to; gratify: fed their appetite for the morbid. b. To support or promote; encourage: His unexplained absences fed our suspicions. 5. To supply as a cue: feed lines to an actor. 6. Sports To pass a ball or puck to (a teammate), especially to set up a scoring chance. v. intr. 1. To eat. Used of animals: pigs feeding at a trough. 2. To be nourished or supported: an ego that feeds on flattery. 3. a. To move steadily, as into a machine for processing. b. To be channeled; flow: This road feeds into the freeway. n. 1. a. Food for animals, especially livestock. b. The amount of such food given at one time. 2. Informal A meal, especially a large one: We had a great feed at the restaurant. 3. The act of providing food, especially to an animal: food given at one feed. 4. a. Material or an amount of material supplied, as to a machine or furnace. b. The act of supplying such material. 5. a. An apparatus that supplies material to a machine. b. The aperture through which such material enters a machine. 6. a. The transmission or conveyance of published content, as by satellite, on the internet, or by broadcast over a network of stations. b. A signal or program made by means of such transmission: The satellite feed was garbled due to sunspot activity. 7. Sports A pass of a ball or puck, especially to set up a scoring chance. Idiom: be off (one’s) feed To have lost one’s appetite: The dog is off its feed this week. [Middle English feden, from Old English f?dan; see p?- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.feed (fi?d) vb (mainly tr) , feeds, feeding or fed (f?d) 1. to give food to: to feed the cat. 2. to give as food: to feed meat to the cat. 3. (intr) to eat food: the horses feed at noon. 4. to provide food for: these supplies can feed 10 million people. 5. to provide what is necessary for the existence or development of: to feed one’s imagination. 6. to gratify; satisfy: to feed one’s eyes on a beautiful sight. 7. (Mechanical Engineering) (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, etc8. (Agriculture) to use (land) as grazing9. (Theatre) theatre informal to cue (an actor, esp a comedian) with lines or actions10. (Rugby) sport to pass a ball to (a team-mate)11. (Electronics) electronics to introduce (electrical energy) into a circuit, esp by means of a feeder12. (also intr; foll by on or upon) to eat or cause to eatn13. the act or an instance of feeding14. food, esp that of animals or babies15. (Mechanical Engineering) the process of supplying a machine or furnace with a material or fuel16. (Mechanical Engineering) the quantity of material or fuel so supplied17. (Communications & Information) computing a facility allowing web users to receive news headlines and updates on their browser from a website as soon as they are published18. (Mechanical Engineering) the rate of advance of a cutting tool in a lathe, drill, etc19. (Mechanical Engineering) a mechanism that supplies material or fuel or controls the rate of advance of a cutting tool20. (Theatre) theatre informal a performer, esp a straight man, who provides cues21. informal a meal[Old English f?dan; related to Old Norse f?tha to feed, Old High German fuotan, Gothic f?thjan; see food, fodder] ?feedable adjCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014feed (fid) v. fed, feed?ing, n. v.t. 1. to give food to; supply with nourishment. 2. to yield or serve as food for: This land has fed ten generations. 3. to provide as food: to feed breadcrumbs to pigeons. 4. to furnish for consumption. 5. to satisfy; minister to; gratify. 6. to supply, as for maintenance or operation: to feed a printing press with paper. 7. to flow into or merge with so as to form or sustain: streams that feed a river. 8. a. to provide lines, cues, or actions to (a performer). b. to supply (lines, cues, or actions) to a performer. 9. to distribute (a local radio or television broadcast) via satellite or network. v.i. 10. (esp. of animals) to take food; eat. 11. to be nourished or gratified; subsist: to feed on fruit. 12. to flow, lead, or provide access: The local roads feed into a state highway. n. 13. food, esp. for farm animals. 14. an allowance, portion, or supply of such food. 15. a meal, esp. a lavish one. 16. the act of feeding. 17. the act or process of feeding a furnace, machine, etc. 18. the material, or the amount of it, so fed. 19. a feeding mechanism. 20. a local radio or television broadcast distributed by satellite or network to a much wider audience, esp. nationwide or international. Idioms: off one’s feed, Slang. without any appetite for food, esp. because of illness. [before 950; Middle English feden, Old English f?dan See food] feed?a?ble, adj. syn: feed, fodder, forage, provender mean food for animals. feed is the general word; however, it most often applies to grain: chicken feed. fodder is applied to coarse feed that is fed to livestock: Cornstalks are good fodder. forage is feed that an animal obtains (usu. grass, leaves, etc.) by grazing or searching about for it: Lost cattle can usually live on forage. provender denotes dry feed for livestock, such as hay, oats, or corn: a supply of provender in the haymow. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.feedPast participle: fedGerund: feedingImperativePresentPreteritePresent ContinuousPresent PerfectPast ContinuousPast PerfectFutureFuture PerfectFuture ContinuousPresent Perfect ContinuousFuture Perfect ContinuousPast Perfect ContinuousConditionalPast ConditionalImperativefeedfeedPresentI feedyou feedhe/she/it feedswe feedyou feedthey feedPreteriteI fedyou fedhe/she/it fedwe fedyou fedthey fedPresent ContinuousI am feedingyou are feedinghe/she/it is feedingwe are feedingyou are feedingthey are feedingPresent PerfectI have fedyou have fedhe/she/it has fedwe have fedyou have fedthey have fedPast ContinuousI was feedingyou were feedinghe/she/it was feedingwe were feedingyou were feedingthey were feedingPast PerfectI had fedyou had fedhe/she/it had fedwe had fedyou had fedthey had fedFutureI will feedyou will feedhe/she/it will feedwe will feedyou will feedthey will feedFuture PerfectI will have fedyou will have fedhe/she/it will have fedwe will have fedyou will have fedthey will have fedFuture ContinuousI will be feedingyou will be feedinghe/she/it will be feedingwe will be feedingyou will be feedingthey will be feedingPresent Perfect ContinuousI have been feedingyou have been feedinghe/she/it has been feedingwe have been feedingyou have been feedingthey have been feedingFuture Perfect ContinuousI will have been feedingyou will have been feedinghe/she/it will have been feedingwe will have been feedingyou will have been feedingthey will have been feedingPast Perfect ContinuousI had been feedingyou had been feedinghe/she/it had been feedingwe had been feedingyou had been feedingthey had been feedingConditionalI would feedyou would feedhe/she/it would feedwe would feedyou would feedthey would feedPast ConditionalI would have fedyou would have fedhe/she/it would have fedwe would have fedyou would have fedthey would have fedCollins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011