feed

I. verb (fed; feeding) Etymology: Middle English feden, from Old English fēdan; akin to Old English fōda food — more at food Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. a. to give food to b. to give as food 2. a. to furnish something essential to the development, sustenance, maintenance, or operation of <

reading feeds the mind

> b. to supply (material to be operated on) to a machine 3. to produce or provide food for 4. a. satisfy, gratify b. support, encourage 5. a. (1) to supply for use or consumption (2) channel, route b. (1) to supply (a signal) to an electronic circuit (2) to send (as by wire or satellite) to a transmitting station for broadcast 6. to supply (a fellow actor) with cues and situations that make a role more effective 7. to pass a ball or puck to (a teammate) especially for a shot at the goal intransitive verb 1. a. to consume food ; eat b. prey — used with on, upon, or off 2. to become nourished or satisfied or sustained as if by food 3. a. to become channeled or directed b. to move into a machine or opening in order to be used or processed II. noun Date: 1576 1. a. an act of eating b. meal; especially a large meal 2. a. food for livestock; specifically a mixture or preparation for feeding livestock b. the amount given at each feeding 3. a. material supplied (as to a furnace or machine) b. a mechanism by which the action of feeding is effected c. the motion or process of carrying forward the material to be operated upon (as in a machine) d. the act or process of feeding a signal (as an audio or video transmission); also the signal being fed 4. the action of passing a ball or puck to a team member who is in position to score