breast-feed
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
-
(of a baby) to nurse.
-
to nurse a baby.
verb
Other Word Forms
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.
See Examples For:
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
Pumping is a short-term concern for those who choose to breast-feed, but child care is an ongoing need for all parents on film and TV sets.
From Seattle Times ● May 17, 2019
This year, remarkably, marks the first year that it has been legal to breast-feed in public in all 50 states.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 22, 2018
Another problem was that I refused to breast-feed.
From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola
Elsewhere in the Instagram Q&A, Paltrow touched on breast-feeding when a fan asked if she had breast-fed her children, Apple Martin, 19, and Moses Martin, 17.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2023
Sam was still being breast-fed, though not as frequently, and his sleep had improved.
From BBC ● May 11, 2023
“We have stopped all the medicines that we were giving Aya and now she is being breast-fed when she needs,” Maarouf said by telephone from Afrin.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
Fewer than half the babies born in the United States were exclusively breast-fed through their first three months, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2020 Breastfeeding Report Card.
From Reuters ● Jun. 1, 2022
This means that the breast-fed human infant is receiving small, but regular additions to the load of toxic chemicals building up in his body.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Nestlé has weathered controversies before, including a U.S. boycott in the late 1970s tied to marketing baby formula as an alternative to breast-feeding in developing countries.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
For women planning to have children, the surgery means forgoing breast-feeding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Carrie Johnson, wife of former prime minister Boris Johnson, has urged breast-feeding mothers in particular to stay hydrated after she was hospitalised for two nights for severe dehydration.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2025
Three main hub areas will dot the festival route and feature live entertainment, free basic bike repair and a private baby-changing and breast-feeding booth, according to the organizers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2023
At home I found my mother breast-feeding the new baby, Dinah.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
