food

food — noun

1. anything that people, animals, or plants eat or take in so they can live and gro

1.nounA1
Definition

anything that people, animals, or plants eat or take in so they can live and grow

Example

The baby ate all the food on her plate and asked for more.

uncountable noun with 'all the'

Jin bought some fresh food from the market for dinner.

collocation: fresh food

Common collocations
  • fresh food
  • healthy food
  • fast food
  • baby food
  • cook food
  • prepare food
  • food and drink
  • food supply
  • food source
Synonyms
  • nourishment

    more formal and technical; focuses on nutrients that help the body grow and stay healthy

  • sustenance

    formal; something that keeps a person or animal alive, often in difficult conditions

  • nutrition

    refers to the process of getting the right kind of food, or the scientific study of food and health

Grammar Patterns

eat + food

food + verb (is ready/runs out)

a type/kind of + food

Common Mistakes

I need to buy some foods for the week.
I need to buy some food for the week.
'food' is usually uncountable; use the countable form 'foods' only when talking about different types (e.g. 'many healthy foods').

2. ideas, information, or experiences that make you think carefully about a topic o

2.nounB2
Definition

ideas, information, or experiences that make you think carefully about a topic or issue

Example

The documentary about ocean pollution gave me a lot of food for thought.

fixed phrase: food for thought

Rachid's speech about community service offered food for thought to everyone who listened.

pattern: offer + food for thought + to someone

Common collocations
  • give food for thought
  • provide food for thought
  • offer food for thought
  • plenty of food for thought
  • food for thought about
Synonyms
  • stimulus

    more general; anything that makes you act, think, or feel, not necessarily about a serious topic

  • inspiration

    positive and creative; makes you want to write, paint, or create something new

Grammar Patterns

give/provide/offer + someone + food for thought

food for thought about + noun phrase

Usage Note

This sense is almost always used inside the fixed expression 'food for thought', which means something worth thinking about seriously. You cannot replace 'food' with another word (*'drink for thought') or change the order (*'thought food').

Common Mistakes

The book gave me a lot of thought food.
The book gave me a lot of food for thought.
The correct fixed phrase is 'food for thought'; the words cannot be reversed.
Idioms

food for thought

idiom

An idea or information that makes you think carefully about something.

The lecture gave Maya plenty of food for thought.

Did that article provide any food for thought for your project?

off your food

idiom

Not feeling like eating or having no appetite.

Sara has been off her food since she caught a cold.

Why is Diego off his food today? Is he feeling sick?

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words relate to eating but have different scopes. 'Food' is the most general term — anything you eat or drink for nourishment ('I bought some food at the supermarket'). 'Meal' refers to a specific eating occasion and the food served at that time ('We had a three-course meal'). 'Diet' describes either a person's usual eating pattern ('A balanced diet includes vegetables and protein') or a restricted eating plan for health ('She started a low-carb diet'). 'Cuisine' is the broadest in cultural scope — it means a style of cooking connected to a region or culture ('Italian cuisine', 'Thai cuisine'). Use 'food' for everyday items, 'meal' for the event of eating, 'diet' for overall eating habits, and 'cuisine' when talking about the cooking traditions of a place.

food ↗meal ↗diet ↗cuisine ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • food supply
  • food source
  • food industry
  • food prices

Phrases

  • food and drink
  • food on the table

Prepositions

  • food for

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishEnglish

The word 'food' comes from Old English 'fōda', which is related to the word 'feed' (to give food to someone or an animal). These both trace back to a very old root in the Proto-Indo-European language that means 'to protect or to feed'. People have used a form of this word for thousands of years to talk about the things living things eat to stay alive.