v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Fed p. pr. & vb. n. Feeding. ] [ AS. fēdan, fr. fōda food; akin to OS. fōdian, OFries. fēda, fōda, D. voeden, OHG. fuottan, Icel. fæða, Sw. föda, Dan. föde. √75. See Food. ] 1. To give food to; to supply with nourishment; to satisfy the physical huger of. [ 1913 Webster ]

If thine enemy hunger, feed him. Rom. xii. 20. [ 1913 Webster ]

Unreasonable creatures feed their young. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To satisfy; gratify or minister to, as any sense, talent, taste, or desire. [ 1913 Webster ]

I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Feeding him with the hope of liberty. Knolles. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To fill the wants of; to supply with that which is used or wasted; as, springs feed ponds; the hopper feeds the mill; to feed a furnace with coal. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To nourish, in a general sense; to foster, strengthen, develop, and guard. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou shalt feed my people Israel. 2 Sam. v. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

Mightiest powers by deepest calms are fed. B. Cornwall. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To graze; to cause to be cropped by feeding, as herbage by cattle; as, if grain is too forward in autumn, feed it with sheep. [ 1913 Webster ]

Once in three years feed your mowing lands. Mortimer. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To give for food, especially to animals; to furnish for consumption; as, to feed out turnips to the cows; to feed water to a steam boiler. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Mach.) (a) To supply (the material to be operated upon) to a machine; as, to feed paper to a printing press. (b) To produce progressive operation upon or with (as in wood and metal working machines, so that the work moves to the cutting tool, or the tool to the work). [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To take food; to eat. [ 1913 Webster ]

Her kid . . . which I afterwards killed because it would not feed. De Foe. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To subject by eating; to satisfy the appetite; to feed one's self (upon something); to prey; -- with on or upon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Leaving thy trunk for crows to feed upon. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To be nourished, strengthened, or satisfied, as if by food. “He feeds upon the cooling shade.” Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To place cattle to feed; to pasture; to graze. [ 1913 Webster ]

If a man . . . shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field. Ex. xxii. 5. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. That which is eaten; esp., food for beasts; fodder; pasture; hay; grain, ground or whole; as, the best feed for sheep. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A grazing or pasture ground. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An allowance of provender given to a horse, cow, etc.; a meal; as, a feed of corn or oats. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A meal, or the act of eating. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

For such pleasure till that hour
At feed or fountain never had I found. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The water supplied to steam boilers. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Mach.) (a) The motion, or act, of carrying forward the stuff to be operated upon, as cloth to the needle in a sewing machine; or of producing progressive operation upon any material or object in a machine, as, in a turning lathe, by moving the cutting tool along or in the work. (b) The supply of material to a machine, as water to a steam boiler, coal to a furnace, or grain to a run of stones. (c) The mechanism by which the action of feeding is produced; a feed motion. [ 1913 Webster ]

Feed bag, a nose bag containing feed for a horse or mule. --
Feed cloth, an apron for leading cotton, wool, or other fiber, into a machine, as for carding, etc. --
Feed door, a door to a furnace, by which to supply coal. --
Feed head. (a) A cistern for feeding water by gravity to a steam boiler. (b) (Founding) An excess of metal above a mold, which serves to render the casting more compact by its pressure; -- also called a riser, deadhead, or simply feed or head Knight. --
Feed heater. (a) (Steam Engine) A vessel in which the feed water for the boiler is heated, usually by exhaust steam. (b) A boiler or kettle in which is heated food for stock. --
Feed motion, or
Feed gear (Mach.), the train of mechanism that gives motion to the part that directly produces the feed in a machine. --
Feed pipe, a pipe for supplying the boiler of a steam engine, etc., with water. --
Feed pump, a force pump for supplying water to a steam boiler, etc. --
Feed regulator, a device for graduating the operation of a feeder. Knight. --
Feed screw, in lathes, a long screw employed to impart a regular motion to a tool rest or tool, or to the work. --
Feed water, water supplied to a steam boiler, etc. --
Feed wheel (Mach.), a kind of feeder. See Feeder, n., 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. the process in which part of the output of a system is returned to its input. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. response to an inquiry or experiment. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a canvas bag that is used to feed an animal (such as a horse or mule); animal feed such as oats are placed in the bag, and it is fastened at the top of the head, covering the muzzle. The animal may then eat the contents while thus wearing the feedbag.
Syn. -- nosebag. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, gives food or supplies nourishment; steward. [ 1913 Webster ]

A couple of friends, his chaplain and feeder. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who furnishes incentives; an encourager. “The feeder of my riots.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. One who eats or feeds; specifically, an animal to be fed or fattened. [ 1913 Webster ]

With eager feeding, food doth choke the feeder. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. One who fattens cattle for slaughter. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A stream that flows into another body of water; a tributary; specifically (Hydraulic Engin.), a water course which supplies a canal or reservoir by gravitation or natural flow. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A branch railroad, stage line, air route, or the like; a side line which increases the business of the main line. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

7. (Mining) (a) A small lateral lode falling into the main lode or mineral vein. Ure. (b) A strong discharge of gas from a fissure; a blower. Raymond. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Mach.) An auxiliary part of a machine which supplies or leads along the material operated upon. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Steam Engine) A device for supplying steam boilers with water as needed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. the act of eating, or of supplying with food; the process of fattening. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is eaten; food. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. That which furnishes or affords food, especially for animals; pasture land. [ 1913 Webster ]

Feeding bottle. See under Bottle. [ 1913 Webster ]