feed

/ˈfiːd/

//ˈfiːd// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"feed" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“feed” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #2,155) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#2,155
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To give (someone or something) food to eat.

Corpus desk

Index EN-feed · feed · English

feed · rank #2,155 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,155
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH factor

Nearest frequency peer: factor (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “feed”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “feed” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

feed vs few
50% similar
feed vs foe
50% similar
feed vs FEI
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for feed
PropertyValue
Headwordfeed
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈfiːd/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,155
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “feed”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).feedlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “factor” (#2,154), “golden” (#2,156), “era” (#2,153). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “feed” is #2,155. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for feed is neighbouring look-alikes ("few", "foe", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /ˈfiːd/. Frequency #2,155 among 2,507 “F” headwords. 11 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for feed, with forms such as "efed", "fede", and "feedd". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "few", "foe", "FEI", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English feden, from Old English fēdan (“to feed”), from Proto-West Germanic *fōdijan, from Proto-Germanic *fōdijaną (“to feed”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to guard, graze, feed”). Cognate with West Frisian fiede (“to nourish, feed”), Dut… The correct English form is feed, spelled F-E-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    To give (someone or something) food to eat.
  2. 2
    To eat (usually of animals).
  3. 3
    To give (someone or something) to (someone or something else) as food.
  4. 4
    To give to a machine to be processed.
  5. 5
    To supply (a machine) with something to be processed.
  6. 6
    To satisfy, gratify, or minister to (a sense, taste, desire, etc.).
  7. 7
    To supply with something.
  8. 8
    To graze; to cause to be cropped by feeding, as herbage by cattle.
  9. 9
    To pass to.
  10. 10
    To create the environment where another phonological rule can apply; to be applied before (another rule).
  11. 11
    To create the syntactic environment in which another syntactic rule is applied; to be applied before (another syntactic rule).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how feed appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Feed the dog every evening.
  2. If thine enemy hunger, feed him.

Etymology

From Middle English feden, from Old English fēdan (“to feed”), from Proto-West Germanic *fōdijan, from Proto-Germanic *fōdijaną (“to feed”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to guard, graze, feed”). Cognate with West Frisian fiede (“to nourish, feed”), Dutch voeden (“to feed”), Danish føde (“to bring forth, feed”), Swedish föda (“to bring forth, feed”), Icelandic fæða (“to feed”), and more distantly with Latin pāscō (“feed, nourish”, verb) through Indo-European. More at food, fodder.

Synonyms

nourish

This word in other languages

alimentar(Español)nourrir(Français)ernähren(Deutsch)alimentar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • efed
  • fede
  • feedd
  • ffeed

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of feed - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

efed2fede2feedd1ffeed1
Edit distance from "feed"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "feed"?
"feed" is spelled F-E-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfiːd/.
What does "feed" mean?
As a verb, "feed" means: To give (someone or something) food to eat.
What words are commonly confused with "feed"?
"feed" is commonly confused with "few", "foe", "FEI". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "feed"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "feed" is /ˈfiːd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "feed"?
From Middle English feden, from Old English fēdan (“to feed”), from Proto-West Germanic *fōdijan, from Proto-Germanic *fōdijaną (“to feed”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to guard, graze, feed”). Cognate with West Frisian fiede (“to nourish, f... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "feed", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

legs#2,163pool#2,171soft#2,130loan#2,118

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list