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FEEDER
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An animal being fattened or suitable for fattening
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("feeder" is a kind of...):
domestic animal; domesticated animal (any of various animals that have been tamed and made fit for a human environment)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An animal that feeds on a particular source of food
Example:
a mud feeder
Classified under:
Nouns denoting animals
Hypernyms ("feeder" is a kind of...):
animal; animate being; beast; brute; creature; fauna (a living organism characterized by voluntary movement)
Sense 3
Meaning:
An outdoor device that supplies food for wild birds
Synonyms:
bird feeder; birdfeeder; feeder
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("feeder" is a kind of...):
device (an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A machine that automatically provides a supply of some material
Example:
the feeder discharged feed into a trough for the livestock
Synonyms:
feeder; self-feeder
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("feeder" is a kind of...):
machine (any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks)
Derivation:
feed (introduce continuously)
feed (give food to)
Sense 5
Meaning:
A branch that flows into the main stream
Synonyms:
affluent; confluent; feeder; tributary
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("feeder" is a kind of...):
branch (a stream or river connected to a larger one)
Derivation:
feed (feed into; supply)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Someone who consumes food for nourishment
Synonyms:
eater; feeder
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("feeder" is a kind of...):
consumer (a person who uses goods or services)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "feeder"):
devourer (someone who eats greedily or voraciously)
diner (a person eating a meal (especially in a restaurant))
dunker (an eater who dips food into a liquid before eating it)
glutton; gourmand; gourmandizer; trencherman (a person who is devoted to eating and drinking to excess)
gobbler (a hasty eater who swallows large mouthfuls)
luncher (someone who is eating lunch)
mouth (a person conceived as a consumer of food)
mycophage; mycophagist (a person or animal who eats fungi (especially mushrooms))
nosher; snacker (someone who eats lightly or eats snacks between meals)
omnivore (a person who eats all kinds of foods)
picknicker; picnicker (a person who is picnicking)
gorger; scoffer (someone who eats food rapidly and greedily)
vegetarian (eater of fruits and grains and nuts; someone who eats no meat or fish or (often) any animal products)
Derivation:
feed (take in food; used of animals only)
Context examples:
When HSCs are cultured with a feeder layer and observed using phase contrast microscopy, the trapped cells appear less spherical and less refractile than the HSCs that are floating loosely on top of the feeder layer.
(Cobblestone Area-Forming Cells, NCI Thesaurus)
