food

American  

[food] / fud /

noun

• foods
  plural

1. any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc.

   Synonyms:

   menu, diet, meat, sustenance, bread, aliment, nutriment

2. more or less solid nourishment, as distinguished from liquids.

3. a particular kind of solid nourishment.

   a breakfast food; dog food.

4. whatever supplies nourishment to organisms.

   plant food.

5. anything serving for consumption or use.

   food for thought.

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food British  

/ fuːd /

noun

1. any substance containing nutrients, such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, that can be ingested by a living organism and metabolized into energy and body tissue

2. nourishment in more or less solid form as opposed to liquid form

   food and drink

3. anything that provides mental nourishment or stimulus

   food for thought

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Synonym Usage

Food, fare, provisions, ration(s) all refer to nutriment. Food is the general word: Breakfast foods have become very popular. Many animals prefer grass as food. Fare refers to the whole range of foods that may nourish a person or animal: an extensive bill of fare; The fare of some animals is limited in range. Provisions is applied to a store or stock of necessary things, especially food, prepared beforehand: provisions for a journey. Ration implies an allotment or allowance of provisions: a daily ration for each man of a company. Rations often means food in general: to be on short rations.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• foodlessness
  noun
• nonfood
  noun
• foodless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• foods
  plural

Etymology

Origin of food

First recorded before 1000; Middle English fode, Old English fōda; compare Old English fēdan, Gothic fōdjan feed; cf. fodder ( def. ), foster

Explanation

Food is anything that you can eat and digest. Your body needs food to grow and live. Some people love pizza, others love Thai food, and many can't get enough fruits and vegetables. Everything served at a restaurant is some kind of food — you eat it, digest it, and poop it out. Just because you can chew and swallow something doesn't make it food — try eating a crayon. To be food, it has to have nutritional value. Along with water and shelter, food is something you need to survive.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

food foods

The greatest contemporary challenge, Mr. Lieberman argues, lies in addressing an industrial food system that has evolved over centuries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

There are concerns that if there are fewer porters then other staff would be expected to pick up their work, such as bringing patients for X-rays and delivering food.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

Beyond food and everyday products, the boycott is also playing out in tourism.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

Though she showed many classic early childhood indicators — sensitivity to noise, extremely limited food preferences, rigid adherence to routine and difficulties understanding social nuances — no one suggested she was autistic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Your mouth waters at the aroma of food you get only on special occasions like Cherokee National Holiday or Cherokee days at the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Mr. Lieberman identifies ultraprocessed foods as the principal drivers of what he calls the “obesity pandemic” and avoiding them should be central to our dietary strategy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Cognitive performance was similar among people taking vitamin D2, which is typically obtained from plants or fungi, and vitamin D3, which the body produces after sun exposure and which can also come from animal-based foods.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

The tools are part of a broader push into AI-assisted product development, including Nestlé’s work on foods for people taking GLP-1 drugs.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

For every trending supplement, there is an unprocessed, wholefood alternative – from the anti-inflammatory benefits of turmeric, staving off cramp with pickle juice or consumption of high-nitrate foods like beetroot before competition.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

When he was a captive cub, Xiang Xiang’s diet had been subsidized with manufactured foods packed with nutrients.

From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh

Related Words

• bread
• cooking
• cuisine
• drink
• fare
• feed
• foodstuff
• meal
• meat
• snack