feedback
The teacher gave the students feedback on their essays.
The teacher provided comments to help students improve their writing.
Information about reactions to a product, a person's performance of a task, etc. which is used as a basis for improvement.
The company collects customer feedback to improve its services.
The company gathers opinions from customers to enhance its offerings.
She received positive feedback on her presentation.
Her presentation was praised by the audience.
Feedback is often used in professional, educational, and product development contexts.
The return of a fraction of the output of a process or system to the input, especially when used to maintain performance or to control a system or process.
The system uses feedback to regulate its temperature.
The system adjusts its temperature based on feedback loops.
In engineering, feedback refers to the process where a portion of the output is returned to the input to influence the system's behavior.
Collocations
Pro Tip
Use 'feedback' instead of 'criticism'
While 'criticism' often implies negativity, 'feedback' can be neutral or positive. Use 'feedback' to focus on improvement rather than fault-finding.
Gold Rule
Feedback should be specific and actionable
Vague feedback like 'It was good' is less helpful than 'Your introduction clearly stated the main points.'
Word Origin
First recorded in 1920–25; from the phrase 'feedback loop,' where 'feed' means to supply and 'back' refers to the return of output to input. Originally used in electrical engineering to describe the return of a portion of the output signal to the input.
Usage Notes
Feedback is commonly used in professional settings, such as workplaces, education, and product development. It can be positive or negative but is often intended to be constructive. In informal contexts, 'feedback' may also refer to criticism or complaints.