- feed
- Feed Feed, 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]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
