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Food vs Poison - What's the difference?

food | poison |

As nouns the difference between food and poison

is that food is any substance that can be consumed by living organisms, especially by eating, in order to sustain life while poison is a substance that is harmful or lethal to a living organism.

As a verb poison is

to use poison to kill or paralyse somebody.

food

English

Noun

(en-noun)
  • (uncountable) Any substance that can be consumed by living organisms, especially by eating, in order to sustain life.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
  • , chapter=1 citation , passage=“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like
      Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer. […]”}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=72-3, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= A punch in the gut , passage=Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.}}
  • (countable) A foodstuff.
  • (uncountable, figuratively) Anything that nourishes or sustains.
  • Mozart and Bach are food for my soul.
  • * (and other bibiographic particulars) (William Shakespeare)
  • This may prove food to my displeasure.
  • * (and other bibiographic particulars) (William Wordsworth)
  • In this moment there is life and food / For future years.

    Usage notes

    * Adjectives often applied to "food": raw, cooked, baked, fried, grilled, processed, healthy, unhealthy, wholesome, nutritious, safe, toxic, tainted, adulterated, tasty, delicious, fresh, stale, sweet, sour, spicy, exotic, marine.

    Synonyms

    * (substance consumed by living organisms) bellytimber, chow (slang), comestible (formal), eats (slang), feed (for domesticated animals), fodder (for domesticated animals), foodstuffs, nosh (slang), nourishment, sustenance, victuals * (anything intended to supply energy or nourishment of an entity or idea) brainfood * (foodstuff) bellytimber, foodstuff

    Derived terms

    * cat food * comfort food * dog food * fast food * food bank * food chain * food fight * food for thought * food pyramid * food stamp * foodstuff * foody * health food * junk food * rabbit food * seafood * soul food * whole food

    See also

    * breakfast * brunch * dinner * dunch * lunch, luncheon * meal * supper *

    Statistics

    *

    poison

    English

    (wikipedia poison)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A substance that is harmful or lethal to a living organism.
  • We used a poison to kill the weeds.
  • Something that harms a person or thing.
  • Gossip is a malicious poison .
  • (informal) A drink; liquor.
  • - What's your poison ?
    - I'll have a glass of whisky.

    Synonyms

    * (substance that is harmful) atter, bane, contaminant, pollutant, toxin, venom

    Derived terms

    * poison gas * poison hemlock * poison ivy * poison oak * poison-pen letter * poison pill * poison sumac * poisoner * poisoning * poisonous * poisonwood * rat poison * what's your poison

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To use poison to kill or paralyse somebody
  • The assassin poisoned the king.
  • To pollute; to cause some part of the environment to become poisonous
  • That factory is poisoning the river.
  • To cause something to become much worse
  • Suspicion will poison their relationship.
    He poisoned the mood in the room with his non-stop criticism.
  • To cause someone to hate or to have unfair negative opinions
  • She's poisoned him against all his old friends.

    Synonyms

    * (to pollute) contaminate, pollute, taint * (to cause to become worse) corrupt, taint

    Derived terms

    * lead poisoning * poisoned chalice * radiation poisoning

    References

    * * 1000 English basic words ----