feeder
feeder — noun
- feedersingular
- feedersplural
1. a small container or holder that you hang outside or place in a cage so that bir
a small container or holder that you hang outside or place in a cage so that birds, fish, or other animals can come and take food from it.
Tara filled the bird feeder in her garden with sunflower seeds.
compound: bird feeder
A grey squirrel kept stealing peanuts from the feeder on the back fence.
common pattern: feeder + on + location
Christopher cleaned the fish feeder every Sunday before refilling it.
The park rangers installed three new deer feeders along the forest trail.
Hummingbirds gathered around the red feeder hanging from the porch.
文法句型
bird feeder
fish feeder
用法筆記
Usually appears in compounds naming the animal it serves: bird feeder, hummingbird feeder, fish feeder, deer feeder. The animal name comes before 'feeder'.
常見錯誤
2. a part inside a machine that automatically moves material, such as paper, wire,
a part inside a machine that automatically moves material, such as paper, wire, or grain, from a supply area into the working section of the machine.
The printer's paper feeder jammed halfway through Indra's exam papers.
compound: paper feeder
Leo replaced a broken wire feeder on the welding robot at the factory.
compound: wire feeder
The mill's grain feeder slows down whenever the hopper runs low.
Cyrus designed an automatic feeder that drops one screw at a time onto the belt.
文法句型
paper feeder
automatic feeder
用法筆記
Often appears in compounds naming the material moved (paper feeder, grain feeder) or the speed quality (automatic feeder, manual feeder).
3. a baby, child, or animal described by the way they eat or by what they eat, espe
a baby, child, or animal described by the way they eat or by what they eat, especially when the eating habit is worth noting.
Daichi's baby sister is a slow feeder and takes nearly an hour for one bottle.
common pattern: slow feeder
Owls are night feeders and only hunt for mice after sunset.
common pattern: night feeder (compound)
Sivan warned that the puppy was a fussy feeder and would refuse cheap kibble.
Bottom feeders like catfish search the riverbed for scraps and dead plants.
Nia said her newborn was a hungry feeder right from the first day.
- eater
more general; 'a picky eater' is the everyday equivalent of 'a fussy feeder'
文法句型
fussy/picky feeder
[type] + feeder
用法筆記
Most common with a describing word in front: slow feeder, fussy feeder, night feeder, bottom feeder. Rarely used on its own to mean 'someone who eats'.
常見錯誤
4. a smaller river, road, railway line, or service that joins a larger one and brin
a smaller river, road, railway line, or service that joins a larger one and brings water, traffic, or passengers into it.
Three small feeders bring fresh mountain water into Lake Renata each spring.
feeder + into + larger body
Dylan drove along a narrow feeder that joined the main highway near the airport.
feeder + joined + main road
The town's bus service runs as a feeder to the main train station.
Several rocky feeders pour into the Yamuna River during the monsoon season.
- main
the larger central road, river, or line that the feeder joins
文法句型
feeder + into/to + [larger thing]
用法筆記
Often used attributively as 'feeder road', 'feeder stream', 'feeder line', 'feeder bus'. The structure highlights that the smaller thing exists to serve a larger one.
5. an old-fashioned word for a cloth or plastic cover tied around a small child's n
an old-fashioned word for a cloth or plastic cover tied around a small child's neck to keep food and drink off their clothes during meals.
Grandma tied a cotton feeder around Jude before serving the soup.
tied + a feeder + around + child
Maja kept her grandmother's hand-stitched feeder as a family keepsake.
Old shops in the village still sell woollen feeders for newborn babies.
The nurse handed Lakan a clean feeder before feeding the toddler her porridge.
- bib
the everyday modern word; use this in most contexts
文法句型
tie/put on + a feeder
用法筆記
Mostly heard in older British English; today most speakers say 'bib' instead. You will mainly meet this sense in older books or family conversations.
6. in farming, a young animal such as a calf or pig that is being given extra food
in farming, a young animal such as a calf or pig that is being given extra food so its weight grows quickly before it is sold for meat.
Élise's grandfather buys young feeders at the spring auction every March.
plural countable: feeders at the auction
Each feeder calf gains nearly a kilo a day on the new grain mix.
compound: feeder calf
The barn was full of feeder pigs waiting for transport to the meat market.
Healthy feeders sell for nearly double the price of weaker animals.
- stocker
American farming term for a young animal being raised on grass before fattening; an earlier stage than feeder
文法句型
feeder + [livestock noun]
用法筆記
Most common in American farming language as part of compounds: feeder calf, feeder pig, feeder lamb. The single noun 'feeder' alone is mainly used among farmers and livestock traders.
feeder — adjective
- feederpositive
- feederercomparative
- feederestsuperlative
1. describing a smaller road, school, river, or service that joins onto or sends pe
describing a smaller road, school, river, or service that joins onto or sends people or things into a larger one of the same kind.
The new feeder road links three villages to the main coastal highway.
common collocation: feeder road
Tara teaches at a feeder school that sends most pupils on to the central high school.
common collocation: feeder school
Local councils added two feeder bus routes to reduce traffic near the airport.
The small feeder river dries up completely during the August heatwave.
- tributary
more formal; mostly used of rivers
- main
the larger central road, river, line, or school that the feeder joins
文法句型
feeder + [noun]
用法筆記
Always used before the noun, never after a verb like 'be'. Most common in fixed compounds: feeder road, feeder school, feeder line, feeder bus, feeder river.