# food

Pronunciation: say "FOOD" /fuːd/

## Noun

1. What people and animals eat to stay alive and grow; also, a particular kind of this.
   - Simple: Things that people and animals eat to live and grow, or one kind of these things.
   - _The shelter provides food for families who cannot afford groceries._
   - _Hikers should pack lightweight food for long trips into the mountains._
2. Anything that nourishes or sustains, especially the mind, spirit, or emotions rather than the body.
   - Simple: Something that feeds the mind or feelings instead of the body.
   - _Her mentor's hard questions gave her food for thought that lasted for years._
   - _For many artists, solitude is the food that keeps creativity alive._
3. Any material an organism, plants included, either takes in from outside or makes for itself, and uses to gain energy and grow.
   - Simple: The material a plant, animal, or other living thing takes in or makes, and uses to get energy and grow.
   - _Through photosynthesis, a plant turns carbon dioxide and water into food in the form of sugars._
   - _A seed carries a small store of food that feeds the young plant until its first leaves open._

## Other meanings

- (noun) In slang use, illegal drugs or other banned substances.

## Origin

From Middle English fode, from Old English fōda ("food"), going back through Proto-Germanic *fōdô to the Proto-Indo-European root *peh₂- ("to guard, graze, feed"). It is related to "fodder" and "foster," and has cognates such as Dutch voedsel and Swedish föda.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/food (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).