Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - feed

 I. verb  (fed; ~ing)  Etymology: Middle English feden, from Old English fedan; akin to Old English foda 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 ~s 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 ~ing livestock  b. the amount given at each ~ing  3.  a. material supplied (as to a furnace or machine)  b. a mechanism by which the action of ~ing 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 ~ing 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