Definition of feed

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feed    (fd) KEY 

VERB:
fed  (fd) KEY , feed·ing, feeds
VERB:
tr.

1. 1. To give food to; supply with nourishment: feed the children.
   2. To provide as food or nourishment: fed fish to the cat.
2. 1. To serve as food for: The turkey is large enough to feed a dozen.
   2. To produce food for: The valley feeds an entire county.
3. 1. To provide for consumption, utilization, or operation: feed logs to a fire; feed data into a computer.
   2. To supply with something essential for growth, maintenance, or operation: Melting snow feeds the reservoirs.
   3. To distribute (a local radio or television broadcast) to a larger audience or group of receivers by way of a network or satellite.
4. 1. To minister to; gratify: fed their appetite for the morbid.
   2. 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.

VERB:
intr.

1. To eat: pigs feeding at a trough.
2. To be nourished or supported: an ego that feeds on flattery.
3. 1. To move steadily, as into a machine for processing.
   2. To be channeled; flow: This road feeds into the freeway.

NOUN:

1. 1. Food for animals or birds.
   2. The amount of such food given at one time.
2. Informal A meal, especially a large one.
3. The act of eating.
4. 1. Material or an amount of material supplied, as to a machine or furnace.
   2. The act of supplying such material.
5. 1. An apparatus that supplies material to a machine.
   2. The aperture through which such material enters a machine.
6. 1. The transmission or conveyance of a local radio or television program, as by satellite, on the Internet, or by broadcast over a network of stations.
   2. A program or signal so transmitted or conveyed.
7. Sports A pass of a ball or puck, especially to set up a scoring chance.

IDIOM:
off (one's) feed

Suffering a lack of appetite; sick: The dog is off its feed this week.

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ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English feden, from Old English fdan; see p- in Indo-European roots