breast-feed
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
-
(of a baby) to nurse.
-
to nurse a baby.
verb
Other Word Forms
- breast-fed adjective
- breast-feeding noun
Etymology
Origin of breast-feed
First recorded in 1900–05
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She plans to breast-feed as long as she can, aiming for a year.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025
So researchers are left mainly with observational studies, which examine the babies whose mothers have chosen to breast-feed.
From The New Yorker • May 27, 2019
In her latest collection, the author unspools eight tales, including one about a new mother who ensures the safety of her infant by agreeing to breast-feed the devil.
From Washington Post • May 23, 2019
“We all want to have the same experiences as women,” Maria Clifford, 38, a British transgender mother who has been using a surrogate to breast-feed her child, said on Thursday.
From New York Times • Feb. 15, 2018
Another problem was that I refused to breast-feed.
From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
