Adjacent Words

Feeder definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FEE'DER, n.
1. One that gives food, or supplies nourishment.
2. One who furnishes incentives; an encourager.
The feeder of my riots.
3. One that eats or subsists; as, small birds are feeders on grain or seeds.
4. One that fattens cattle for slaughter.
5. A fountain, stream or channel that supplies a main canal with water.
Feeder of a vein, in mining, a short cross vein.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an animal being fattened or suitable for fattening
2: someone who consumes food for nourishment [syn: eater, feeder]
3: a branch that flows into the main stream [syn: feeder, tributary, confluent, affluent] [ant: distributary]
4: a machine that automatically provides a supply of some material; "the feeder discharged feed into a trough for the livestock" [syn: self-feeder, feeder]
5: an outdoor device that supplies food for wild birds [syn: bird feeder, birdfeeder, feeder]
6: an animal that feeds on a particular source of food; "a bark feeder"; "a mud feeder"

Merriam Webster's

noun Usage: often attributive Date: 14th century 1. one that feeds: as a. one that fattens livestock for slaughter b. a device or apparatus for supplying food 2. one that eats or takes nourishment; especially an animal being fattened or one suitable for fattening 3. a. one that supplies, replenishes, or connects b. tributary 2 c. a heavy wire conductor supplying electricity at some point of an electric distribution system (as from a substation) d. branch; especially a branch transportation line e. a road that provides access to a major artery

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a person or thing that feeds. 2 a person who eats in a specified manner. 3 a child's feeding-bottle. 4 Brit. a bib for an infant. 5 a tributary stream. 6 a branch road, railway line, etc., linking outlying districts with a main communication system. 7 Electr. a main carrying electricity to a distribution point. 8 a hopper or feeding apparatus in a machine.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Feeder Feed"er, n. 1. One who, or that which, gives food or supplies nourishment; steward. A couple of friends, his chaplain and feeder. --Goldsmith. 2. One who furnishes incentives; an encourager. ``The feeder of my riots.'' --Shak. 3. One who eats or feeds; specifically, an animal to be fed or fattened. With eager feeding, food doth choke the feeder. --Shak. 4. One who fattens cattle for slaughter. 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. 6. A branch railroad, stage line, or the like; a side line which increases the business of the main line. 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. 8. (Mach.) An auxiliary part of a machine which supplies or leads along the material operated upon. 9. (Steam Engine) A device for supplying steam boilers with water as needed.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(feeders) 1. A feeder road, railway, or river is a smaller one that leads to a more important one. ADJ: ADJ n 2. Feeder airline and railway services connect major routes and local destinations. ...a feeder to British Airways's transatlantic destinations. N-COUNT: usu N n 3. A feeder school or team provides students or players for a larger or more important one. N-COUNT: oft N n 4. A feeder is a container that you fill with food for birds or animals. N-COUNT: oft n N

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A spoon. To nab the feeder; to steal a spoon.

Moby Thesaurus

Brillat-Savarin, L, Lucullus, Roscius, actor, actress, affluent, antagonist, antihero, bad guy, barnstormer, bayou, billabong, bit, bit part, board-and-roomer, boarder, bon vivant, branch, cable railway, cannibal, carnivore, cast, character, character actor, character man, character woman, child actor, cog railway, confluent, confluent stream, connoisseur of food, consumer, cue, dendritic drainage pattern, diner, diner-out, diseur, diseuse, dramatizer, eater, eater-out, effluent, el, electric railway, elevated, elevated railway, embankment, epicure, fat part, feeder line, flesh-eater, foil, fork, fruitarian, gastronome, glutton, gourmand, gourmet, grain-eater, graminivore, granivore, gravity-operated railway, heavy, herbivore, hero, heroine, high liver, histrio, histrion, horse railway, hungry mouth, ingenue, junction, juvenile, lactovegetarian, lead, lead role, leading lady, leading man, leading woman, light railroad, line, lines, luncher, main line, man-eater, matinee idol, meat-eater, metro, mime, mimer, mimic, monologist, monorail, mouth, mummer, omnivore, omophagist, pantomime, pantomimist, pantophagist, part, person, personage, phytophage, picnicker, piece, plant-eater, playactor, player, predacean, prong, protagonist, protean actor, rack railway, rack-and-pinion railway, rail, rail line, railroad, railway, reciter, roadbed, roadway, role, side, sidetrack, siding, soubrette, stage performer, stage player, stooge, straight man, straight part, street railway, streetcar line, stroller, strolling player, subway, supporting character, supporting role, switchback, terminal, terminus, theatrical, thespian, title role, track, tram, tramline, trencherman, trestle, tributary, trolley line, trouper, trunk, trunk line, tube, turnout, underground, utility man, vegetarian, villain, walk-on, walking part