feed — OAT · Shobdo

feed

verb

1 I have a large family to feed:

give food to, provide food for, provide for, cater for, prepare food for, cook for, make a meal for, wine and dine;

nourish, sustain;

suckle, breastfeed, bottle-feed;

dated victual.

2 the baby spends all day sleeping and feeding:

eat, take nourishment, partake of food, consume food, devour food, have a meal;

informal snack, graze;

British, informal nosh;

dated sup.

3 there are too many cows feeding in a small area:

graze, browse, crop, pasture, ruminate;

eat.

4 we all have ways of feeding our self-esteem:

strengthen, fortify, support, bolster, reinforce, boost, augment, supplement, add to, add fuel to, fuel, encourage, gratify, minister to.

▷antonyms undermine.

5 she fed secrets to the Russians:

supply, provide, give, deliver, present, furnish, issue, impart, sell.

□ feed on

the birds feed on a varied diet of fish:

live on, live off, exist on, subsist on, rely for nourishment on, depend on, thrive on;

eat, consume, take in, have as food.

noun

1 he provides feed for his goats and sheep:

fodder, food, foodstuff, forage, pasturage, herbage, silage;

formal comestibles, provender.

2 informal the hikers had decided to halt for their feed:

meal, lunch, dinner, supper, repast;

feast, banquet;

British tea;

informal spread, blowout, binge;

British, informal nosh, nosh-up, scoff, tuck-in;

formal refection, collation.