third-person singular verb
A person or animal feeds someone or something by giving it food.
The mother feeds her baby with a bottle.
The zookeeper feeds the lions in the evening.
American English
How to pronounce feeds
verb · nounB1Common word
FEEDZ
/fidz/
One syllable.
Form of feed
Feeds can be a third-person singular verb or the plural of the noun feed.
A person or animal feeds someone or something by giving it food.
Practice out loudMeanings & examples
third-person singular verb
A baby or animal feeds when it eats, often by eating a particular food.
The calf feeds on grass in the field.
The baby feeds every three hours.
Good to know
This use is common for babies and animals. For most adults, use eat in everyday situations.
third-person singular verb
A person or machine feeds material into or through a machine so the machine can use or process it.
She feeds the paper into the printer.
The machine feeds the cards through the reader.
Good to know
With a machine, feeds means puts something in or through it, not gives it food.
third-person singular verb
A source feeds a person, place, or system by giving it a regular supply of something.
The river feeds water to the fields.
The app feeds live data to the display.
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.