Definition of: food

(fd) noun
1. That which is eaten or drunk or absorbed for the growth and repair of organisms and the maintenance of life; nourishment; nutriment; aliment.
2. Nourishment taken in solid as opposed to liquid form: food and drink.
3. That which increases, keeps active, or sustains. [OE fōda] Synonyms: aliment, diet, fare, feed, fodder, forage, nourishment, nutriment, nutrition, pabulum, provender, regimen, sustenance, viands, victuals. Food is, in the popular sense, whatever one eats in contradistinction to what one drinks. Thus we speak of food and drink, of wholesome, unwholesome, or indigestible food; in a more scientific sense whatever, when taken into an organism, serves to build up structure or supply waste may be termed food; thus we speak of liquid food, plant food, etc.; in this wider sense food is closely synonymous with nutriment, nourishment, and sustenance. Victuals is a plain, homely word for whatever may be eaten; we speak of choice viands, cold victuals. Diet refers to the quantity and quality of food habitually taken, with reference to preservation of health. Regimen considers food as taken by strict rule, in which use it is closely synonymous with diet, but applies more widely to the whole ordering of life. Fare is a general word for all table supplies, good or bad; as, sumptuous fare; wretched fare. Feed, fodder, and provender are used only of the food of the lower animals, feed denoting anything consumed, but more commonly grain, fodder denoting hay, corn stalks, or the like, sometimes called long feed; provender is dry feed, whether grain or hay, straw, etc. Forage denotes any kind of food suitable for horses and cattle, primarily as obtained by a military force in scouring the country, especially an enemy's country. Compare NUTRIMENT.