food

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   What people or animals eat to stay alive and healthy.

   Grammar: No plural in this sense and no a: some food, not a food.

   Patterns

   • food for someone

   We bought food for the weekend trip.

   There was not enough food for everyone.

   Dogs need fresh water and good food.

2. 2nouncountable or uncountable

   A particular kind of edible thing, or the cooking of a place or style.

   Grammar: Countable for kinds: frozen foods; uncountable for cuisine: Thai food.

   Fried foods are tasty but heavy.

   I love Italian food.

   Organic foods are often more expensive.

3. 3noununcountablefigurative

   Something that feeds or encourages a feeling, thought or process, as in 'food for thought'.

   Grammar: Used in set phrases, such as food for thought.

   Patterns

   • food for thought

   His speech gave me food for thought.

   The documentary was food for the imagination.

Word forms

Common combinations

fast food

Fast food is quick but not very healthy.

cook food

Cook the food until it is hot all the way through.

healthy food

Healthy food can be cheap.

food for thought

The article gave us food for thought.

food supply

Floods threatened the local food supply.

Synonyms and how they differ

nourishment

Formal; stresses the substance that keeps you healthy and growing.

fare

Literary or formal; refers to the kind of food offered, as in simple fare.

cuisine

Refers to a style of cooking of a country or restaurant, not the eaten substance itself.

grub

Very informal slang for food.

Opposites

Word family

foodie noun

a person who is very interested in food

foodstuff noun

any substance used as food

food chain noun

a series of living things each feeding on the one before

Commonly confused: food or meal?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “food”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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