feed

[[t]fid[/t]]

v. fed, feed•ing, n.

1) to give food to; supply with nourishment

2) to yield or serve as food for:

This land has fed ten generations[/ex]

3) to provide as food:

to feed breadcrumbs to pigeons[/ex]

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[/ex]

7) to flow into or merge with so as to form or sustain:

streams that feed a river[/ex]

8) sbz inf

a) to provide lines, cues, or actions to (a performer)

b) sbz to supply (lines, cues, or actions) to a performer

9) rtv to distribute (a local radio or television broadcast) via satellite or network

10) ahb. (esp. of animals) to take food; eat

11) to be nourished or gratified; subsist:

to feed on fruit[/ex]

12) to flow, lead, or provide access:

The local roads feed into a state highway[/ex]

13) ahb. 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) rtv a local radio or television broadcast distributed by satellite or network to a much wider audience, esp. nationwide or international

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- off one's feed

Etymology: bef. 950; ME feden, OE fēdan 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.