underfeed

[ uhn-der-feed uhn-der-feed ]

verb (used with object)

, un·der·fed, un·der·feed·ing.

1. to feed feed insufficiently.
2. to feed feed with fuel from beneath.

underfeed

verb

1. to give too little food to
2. to supply (a furnace, engine, etc) with fuel from beneath

noun

1. an apparatus by which fuel, etc, is supplied from below

Word History and Origins

Origin of underfeed¹

First recorded in 1650–60; under- + feed

Example Sentences

Sly says that when hired, co-workers instructed him to underfeed the animals to reduce animal waste.

From Washington Times

While those worms could eat 60 pounds of food scraps in a week, they do fine on a lot less, and it is more of a problem to put too much food in a bin than to underfeed them because the food will rot and build up heat, killing the worms.

From Washington Post

This role in nutrition points to one way in which an off-kilter microbiome can affect its host: what feeds a body can also overfeed or underfeed it.

From Economist

Underfeed, un-dėr-fēd′, v.t. to feed inadequately.—adjs.

From Project Gutenberg

Ever since the introduction of mass armies in Europe in the 17th century, governments have generally understood that to underpay and underfeed one's troops -- and the class of people that supplies them -- is to risk having the guns pointed in the opposite direction from that which the officers recommend.

From Salon