Meanings
- Not eating normally.
"Nothing serious," the veterinarian added. "He was just off his feed a trifle."
1915, Jack London, chapter 12, in The Little Lady of the Big House1 more example
"My dairy farmers tell me that because of the heat the cows are just off their feed."
1998 August 12, Rick Lyman, “Drought in Texas and Oklahoma Stunting Crops and Economies”, in New York Times, retrieved 02 Aug 2012 - idiomaticRather unwell, especially with a reduced or altered appetite; somewhat disoriented or disconcerted.
‘Something is the matter with Psmith. He is off his feed. He should try Blenkinsop's Balm for the Bilious.’
1915, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 24, in Psmith, Journalist3 more examples
“He wos took wery bad one arternoon, arter having been off his feed, and wery shaky on his legs for some veeks.”
1841, Charles Dickens, chapter 4, in Master Humphrey's ClockI asked some questions about Jack Benton, and one of the men told me that he was off his feed, and hardly ate anything, and swallowed all the coffee he could lay his hands on, and had used up all his own tobacco and had begun on what his brother had left.
1903, F. Marion Crawford, Man Overboard!The heavyweight champion of the world was off his feed. . . . Rocky, ordinarily a first-rate trencherman, was pushing away from the breakfast table after downing only two eggs and a pair of lamb chops.
1954 June 28, “Sport: Bumbling Champ”, in TimeSynonyms: out of sorts, under the weather
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseRather unwell, especially with a reduced or altered appetite; somewhat disoriented or disconcerted.
in veterinary medicine, of an animal
Cite this entry
off one's feed. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/off%20one's%20feed
“off one's feed.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/off%20one's%20feed. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “off one's feed,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/off%20one's%20feed.
Source: off one's feed on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.