Have you ever got stuck on the correct past tense of the word feed in English grammar? This article will explain the conjugations of the word feed and also define feed and give you all the information you need about the word to master it in the English language.
Your writing, at its best
Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant
to supply for maintenance or operation, as to a machine:
to feed paper into a photocopier.
to provide with the necessary materials for development, maintenance, or operation:
to feed a printing press with paper.
to use (land) as pasture.
Noun
food, especially for farm animals, as cattle, horses or chickens.
an allowance, portion, or supply of such food.
Informal. a meal, especially a lavish one.
the act of feeding.
the act or process of feeding a furnace, machine, etc.
the material, or the amount of it, so fed or supplied.
a feeding mechanism.
Electricity.
Theater Informal.
a line spoken by one actor, the response to which by another actor is expected to cause laughter.
an actor, especially a straight man, who provides such lines.
a local television broadcast distributed by satellite or network to a much wider audience, especially nationwide or international.
Digital Technology.
a website or application that publishes updates from social media or news-collection websites in reverse chronological order:
I follow all of the latest celebrity gossip in my Twitter feed.
an XML-based web document that is updated automatically at predetermined intervals and includes descriptive titles or short descriptions and links to recent pages on a website:
Subscribe to news feeds to get the latest news from around the world.
What Is the Past Tense of Feed?
The past tense of feed is feed. This would be used in a sentence like:
I fed the animals on my grandfather’s farm each morning while staying with them this summer.
How Do You Conjugate Feed?
Here are some verb conjugations of the irregular verb feed including the past tense verb forms:
Base Form/Infinitive: To feed
Past Participle: Fed
Present Participle/Gerund: Feeding
Simple Present Tense
Simple Past Tense
Future Tense
I feed
fed
Am feeding
You feed
fed
Are feeding
He/she/it feeds
fed
Is feeding
We feed
fed
Are feeding
They feed
fed
Are feeding
The History and Origin of the Word
The word feed has been used since at least 950. In Middle English, it was spelled feden, in Old English fedan, and in Old Saxon, it was spelled fodian.
Synonyms of Feed
Fodder – coarse food for livestock, composed of entire plants, including leaves, stalks, and grain, of such forages as corn and sorghum
Forage – food for horses or cattle; fodder; provender.
Provender – dry food, as hay or oats, for livestock or other domestic animals; fodder.
What defect in the feed valve will cause the brake pipe pressure to equalize with that in the main reservoir? THE TRAVELING ENGINEERS’ ASSOCIATION|ANONYMOUS
It’d take all he’s worth to feed him through the winter, and he’d be no use to you at all. THE HILLS OF DESIRE|RICHARD AUMERLE MAHER
They will continue to feed until every vestige of the tubers is eaten, leaving the ground in a fine condition for replanting. THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS|THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Next time you need to write the word feed, you will be well prepared for everything you need to know what it is and how to use it efficiently. You should feel confident with the different conjugations, the history of the word, and the definition.
Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.