feats

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of feat.

   The astronauts' engineering feats kept the damaged craft flying.

   History books celebrate the military feats of a handful of generals.

   Note

   A regular -s plural, and the reading to try first when feats turns up in modern prose: the noun behind it names a relatively rare or difficult accomplishment, so the plural gathers several of them. The same spelling also serves the verb form, but that verb is obsolete in its "fashion" sense and informal in its "feature" sense. The archaic adjective feat, "dexterous," has no plural at all.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of feat. Obsolete.

   Note

   Here the spelling belongs to a verb with two very different lives. In the sense "to form, to fashion" it is obsolete, so a craftsman who feats a joint speaks the English of older texts. In its newer, informal sense it stands in for feature and is transitive, always taking a direct object: a track that feats a guest singer. Writing that needs to sound careful should use feature.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2