feed (up)on (someone or something)

feed (up)on (someone or something)

Literally, to eat or consume something for sustenance. Ugh, as soon as I go outside, I feel like the mosquitos are just feeding on me! The man fed upon fish and coconut meat while he was stranded on the desert island. Yikes, the greenhead flies fed upon you on the beach, huh?

See also: feed

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

feed (up)on someone or something

to eat someone or something. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) They say that some Bengal tigers feed upon people. They feed on anything that moves.

See also: feed, on

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

feed on

v.

To be nourished or sustained by something. Used especially of animals: Pigs feed on corn husks.

See also: feed, on

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.