FOOD

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does food mean? 

• FOOD (noun)
  The noun FOOD has 3 senses:

1. any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue

2. any solid substance (as opposed to liquid) that is used as a source of nourishment

3. anything that provides mental stimulus for thinking

  Familiarity information: FOOD used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FOOD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue

Classified under:

Nouns with no superordinates

Synonyms:

food; nutrient

Hypernyms ("food" is a kind of...):

substance (a particular kind or species of matter with uniform properties)

Meronyms (parts of "food"):

food; solid food (any solid substance (as opposed to liquid) that is used as a source of nourishment)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "food"):

comfort food (food that is simply prepared and gives a sense of wellbeing; typically food with a high sugar or carbohydrate content that is associated with childhood or with home cooking)

vitellus; yolk (nutritive material of an ovum stored for the nutrition of an embryo (especially the yellow mass of a bird or reptile egg))

culture medium; medium ((bacteriology) a nutrient substance (solid or liquid) that is used to cultivate micro-organisms)

chyme (a semiliquid mass of partially digested food that passes from the stomach through the pyloric sphincter into the duodenum)

micronutrient (a substance needed only in small amounts for normal body function (e.g., vitamins or minerals))

soul food (food traditionally eaten by African-Americans in the South)

water (a liquid necessary for the life of most animals and plants)

beverage; drink; drinkable; potable (any liquid suitable for drinking)

feed; provender (food for domestic livestock)

commissariat; provender; provisions; viands; victuals (a stock or supply of foods)

aliment; alimentation; nourishment; nutriment; nutrition; sustenance; victuals (a source of materials to nourish the body)

food product; foodstuff (a substance that can be used or prepared for use as food)

fare (the food and drink that are regularly served or consumed)

comestible; eatable; edible; pabulum; victual; victuals (any substance that can be used as food)

manna; manna from heaven; miraculous food ((Old Testament) food that God gave the Israelites during the Exodus)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any solid substance (as opposed to liquid) that is used as a source of nourishment

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Synonyms:

food; solid food

Context example:

food and drink

Hypernyms ("food" is a kind of...):

solid (matter that is solid at room temperature and pressure)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "food"):

breakfast food (any food (especially cereal) usually served for breakfast)

garden truck; green goods; green groceries; produce (fresh fruits and vegetable grown for the market)

coconut; coconut meat (the edible white meat of a coconut; often shredded for use in e.g. cakes and curries)

dika bread (somewhat astringent paste prepared by grinding and heating seeds of the African wild mango; a staple food of some African peoples)

fish (the flesh of fish used as food)

seafood (edible fish (broadly including freshwater fish) or shellfish or roe etc)

butter (an edible emulsion of fat globules made by churning milk or cream; for cooking and table use)

yoghourt; yoghurt; yogurt (a custard-like food made from curdled milk)

cheese (a solid food prepared from the pressed curd of milk)

slop ((usually plural) weak or watery unappetizing food or drink)

junk food (food that tastes good but is high in calories having little nutritional value)

health food (any natural or prepared food popularly believed to promote good health)

alimentary paste; pasta (shaped and dried dough made from flour and water and sometimes egg)

meat (the flesh of animals (including fishes and birds and snails) used as food)

loaf (a quantity of food (other than bread) formed in a particular shape)

baked goods (foods (like breads and cakes and pastries) that are cooked in an oven)

chocolate (a food made from roasted ground cacao beans)

convenience food (any packaged dish or food that can be prepared quickly and easily as by thawing or heating)

fresh food; fresh foods (food that is not preserved by canning or dehydration or freezing or smoking)

leftovers (food remaining from a previous meal)

Holonyms ("food" is a part of...):

food; nutrient (any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Anything that provides mental stimulus for thinking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

food; food for thought; intellectual nourishment

Hypernyms ("food" is a kind of...):

cognitive content; content; mental object (the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "food"):

pabulum (insipid intellectual nourishment)

 Context examples 

Some cancer treatments may change the sense of taste and cause foods to have a metallic taste.

(Metallic, NCI Dictionary)

A substance made or used when the body breaks down food, drugs or chemicals, or its own tissue (for example, fat or muscle tissue).

(Metabolite, NCI Dictionary)

‘Go into the kitchen,’ he continued out loud, ‘and you will get food and drink. I have no doubt that I shall find you a situation.’

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He took his meals in his own room, and so was able to give me part of his food.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

So I said, 'I will go to Nulato and bring thee food, also strong men to carry thee to camp.'

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Methemoglobinemia can be caused by injury or being exposed to certain drugs, chemicals, or foods.

(Methemoglobinemia, NCI Dictionary)

“I have been too busy to think of food, and I am likely to be busier still this evening. By the way, Doctor, I shall want your co-operation.”

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Injury or certain drugs, chemicals, or foods may cause a higher-than-normal amount of methemoglobin to be made.

(Methemoglobin, NCI Dictionary)

In conjunction with a perfect stomach that could digest anything, he possessed knowledge of the various foods that were at the same time nutritious and cheap.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

You can blast my other passions, but revenge remains—revenge, henceforth dearer than light or food!

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)