verb
to give food to a person or animal
She feeds the baby every morning.
Please feed the cat some chicken.
Common phrases & grammar
feed a baby
feed + someone/something + something
feed + something + to + someone/something
American English
How to pronounce feed
verb · nounB1Common word
FEED
/fid̚/
One syllable.
to give food to a person or animal
Practice out loudMeanings & examples
verb
to eat, especially when talking about a baby or an animal; often used with on
The birds feed on seeds.
The baby feeds every three hours.
Good to know
Feed is common for babies and animals. For most adults, use eat in everyday situations.
Common phrases & grammar
feed on + something
someone/something + feeds on + something
verb
to put material into a machine so that the machine can use or process it
Feed the paper into the printer.
She fed the forms through the scanner.
Good to know
With a machine, feed means put something in, not give it food.
Common phrases & grammar
feed + something + into + something
feed + something + through + something
verb
to provide a person, place, or system with a regular supply of something
The river feeds water to the fields.
The app feeds information to the display.
Common phrases & grammar
feed + something + to + someone/something
something + feeds + something
Useful expressions
to help produce a result or become part of a larger system
These costs feed into the final price.
to influence a later stage or result
The test results fed back into the next design.
to be very annoyed or tired of something
I'm fed up with these delays.
Related words & forms
Use fed for both the past and the past participle: She fed the dog. She has fed the dog.