feeder

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. One that supplies food: a bird feeder on a window ledge.
2. n. One that is fed, especially an animal that is being fattened for market.
3. n. A worker or device that feeds materials into a machine for further processing.
4. n. Something that contributes to the operation, maintenance, or supply of something else, especially:
5. n. A tributary stream.
6. n. A branch line of a transport system, as of an airline or a railroad.
7. n. Any of the medium-voltage lines used to distribute electric power from a substation to consumers or to smaller substations.
8. n. A transmission line between an antenna and a transmitter.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. One who or that which feeds, or supplies food or nourishment.
2. n. One who furnishes incentives; an encourager.
3. n. One who or an animal that eats or takes nourishment.
4. n. A servant or dependent supported by his lord; a parasite.
5. n. One who fattens cattle for slaughter.
6. n. That which feeds or supplies; anything that serves for the conveyance of material or supplies to, or furnishes communication with, something else: as, great rivers are valuable feeders of commerce; cross-roads and lanes are feeders to the highway.
7. n. Specifically— A fountain. stream, or channel that supplies a main canal with water.
8. n. A branch or side railroad running into and increasing the business of the main line.
9. n. In mining, a branch or spur falling into the main lode, and appearing to add to its width or richness; a dropper.
10. n. Any device or contrivance for delivering to a machine the feed or materials to be operated upon, as the apron of a carder, the feed-wheel of a sewing-machine, the feeding device of a saw-mill, rail-machine, grain-mill, etc.
11. n. In organ-building, a small oblique bellows placed under (occasionally apart from) the large horizontal storage-bellows, and used to furnish air to the latter. The mechanical power is applied to the feeder, not to the bellows proper, though the steadiness and pressure of the wind depend solely upon the size and weighting of the latter.
12. n. In theat. cant, a subordinate role written to bring out the peculiarities of an important part.
13. n. One who feeds a machine, as a printing-press: as, pressmen and feeders. See feeding, 4.
14. n. In entomology, one of the organs composing the mouth-parts or trophi.
15. n. The player who tosses the ball to the batsman (in rounders and similar games); hence, the name of a particular game resembling rounders.

Wiktionary

1. n. That which feeds.
2. n. That which is used to feed.
3. n. A tributary stream, especially of a canal.
4. n. A branch line of a railway
5. n. A transmission line that feeds the electricity for an electricity substation, or for a transmitter.
6. n. an 1800s baseball term meaning the pitcher.
7. n. A player who is killed by the opposing player or team more than once through lack of skills and experience, thus helping the opposing side.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. One who, or that which, gives food or supplies nourishment; steward.
2. n. One who furnishes incentives; an encourager.
3. n. One who eats or feeds; specifically, an animal to be fed or fattened.
4. n. One who fattens cattle for slaughter.
5. n. A stream that flows into another body of water; a tributary; specifically (Hydraulic Engin.), a water course which supplies a canal or reservoir by gravitation or natural flow.
6. n. A branch railroad, stage line, air route, or the like; a side line which increases the business of the main line.
7. n. A small lateral lode falling into the main lode or mineral vein.
8. n. A strong discharge of gas from a fissure; a blower.
9. n. An auxiliary part of a machine which supplies or leads along the material operated upon.
10. n. A device for supplying steam boilers with water as needed.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. someone who consumes food for nourishment
2. n. an animal being fattened or suitable for fattening
3. n. a branch that flows into the main stream
4. n. an outdoor device that supplies food for wild birds
5. n. an animal that feeds on a particular source of food
6. n. a machine that automatically provides a supply of some material