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Meaning & use

feeding time

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˈfiːdɪŋ taɪm/
US/ˈfidɪŋ taɪm/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable or uncountable

    The regular moment when animals, or a baby, are given their food.

    Grammar: Can be a general idea (feeding time is at six) or a particular occasion (the evening feeding time).

    Patterns

    • at feeding time
    • feeding time for someone

    The zoo draws big crowds at the penguins' feeding time.

    The dog starts barking at feeding time every day.

    Feeding time for the newborn is every three hours.

  2. nounsingularhumorousinformal

    A chaotic or greedy mealtime, especially when many people eat at once.

    Grammar: Usually singular and humorous, often with it was: it was feeding time at the buffet.

    Patterns

    • it was feeding time

    When the pizzas arrived, it was feeding time for the whole team.

    The kitchen turned into a feeding time frenzy once the guests arrived.

Word forms

pluralfeeding times

Common combinations

at feeding time
The seals leap out of the water at feeding time.
a regular feeding time
Cats like a regular feeding time and will remind you if you are late.
announce feeding time
A bell announces feeding time on the farm.
miss feeding time
The hungry puppies howled when we missed feeding time.
feeding time frenzy
The sharks created a feeding time frenzy around the bait.

Synonyms and how they differ

mealtime
Mealtime is a general word for when anyone eats, while feeding time sounds specifically about animals and babies.
feed
As a noun, feed is shorter and more common in baby care, as in the midnight feed, whereas feeding time names the time itself.
dinnertime
Dinnertime refers to the evening meal for people and is not used for animals the way feeding time is.

Word family

feed verb
to give food to a person or animal
feeding noun
the act of giving food
feeder noun
a container or device that delivers food to animals
fed adjective
having been given food

Commonly confused: feeding time or feeding frenzy?

feeding time vs feeding frenzy

A feeding frenzy is a wild burst of eating, or a figurative rush of excited attention, while feeding time is just the scheduled moment of a meal.

Practice

The keepers said the lions are most active at ____, when they hear the food cart.

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