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[feed-bak] /ˈfidˌbæk/

noun
1.
Electronics.

2.
the furnishing of data concerning the operation or output of a machine to an automatic control device or to the machine itself, so that subsequent or ongoing operations of the machine can be altered or corrected.
3.
a reaction or response to a particular process or activity:
He got very little feedback from his speech.
4.
evaluative information derived from such a reaction or response:
to study the feedback from an audience survey.
5.
Psychology. knowledge of the results of any behavior, considered as influencing or modifying further performance.
Compare .
6.
Biology. a self-regulatory biological system, as in the synthesis of some hormones, in which the output or response affects the input, either positively or negatively.
/ˈfiːdˌbæk/
noun
1.

2.
the return of part of the sound output by a loudspeaker to the microphone or pick-up so that a high-pitched whistle is produced
3.
the whistling noise so produced
4.

5.
information in response to an inquiry, experiment, etc: there was little feedback from our questionnaire
verb, adverb
6.
(transitive) to return (part of the output of a system) to its input
7.
to offer or suggest (information, ideas, etc) in reaction to an inquiry, experiment, etc
n.

1920, in the electronics sense, from feed + back (adj.). Transferred use, “information about the results of a process” is attested by 1955.

feedback feed·back (fēd’bāk’)
n.

feedback
(fēd’bāk’)
The supply of an input to some process or system as a function of its output. See more at negative feedback, positive feedback.

A process in which a system regulates itself by monitoring its own output. That is, it “feeds back” part of its output to itself. Feedback is used to control machines; a heating system, for example, uses a thermostat to monitor and adjust its output. Feedback is also used by the human brain to control various muscles and joints.

Note: By extension, “feedback” is any response or information about the result of a process.

Note: Feedback is usually a feature of automation.

verb

To surprise and create discomposure: those grades don’t faze her (1830+)

electronics
Part of a system output presented at its input. Feedback may be unintended. When used as a design feature, the output is usually transformed by passive components which attenuate it in some manner; the result is then presented at the system input.
Feedback is positive or negative, depending on the sign with which a positive change in the original input reappears after transformation. Negative feedback was invented by Black to stabilise vacuum tube amplifiers. The behaviour becomes largely a function of the feedback transformation and only minimally a function of factors such as transistor gain which are imperfectly known.
Positive feedback can lead to instability; it finds wide application in the construction of oscillators.
Feedback can be used to control a system, as in feedback control.
(1996-01-02)