dairy
Americannoun
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dairies
plural
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an establishment, as a room, building, or buildings, where milk and cream are kept and butter and cheese are made.
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a shop or company that sells milk, butter, etc.
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the business of a dairy farm, concerned with the production and treatment of milk and cream and the manufacture of butter and cheese.
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milk, or products made from or containing milk; dairy products, as butter and cheese.
He avoids red meat, processed foods, and dairy in his diet.
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(in Jewish dietary law) foods, including all milk products, eggs, fish, vegetables, etc., that may be eaten at a meal in which milk is served, in contrast to meat and meat products, which may not.
adjective
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of or relating to a dairy or a dairy farm.
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relating to or for milk, cream, butter, cheese, etc..
dairy products; the dairy case at a supermarket.
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(in Jewish dietary law) of or relating to dairy, in contrast to meat and meat products.
noun
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a company that supplies milk and milk products
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a shop that sells provisions, esp milk and milk products
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a shop that remains open outside normal trading hours
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a room or building where milk and cream are stored or made into butter and cheese
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(modifier) of or relating to the production of milk and milk products
dairy cattle
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( in combination )
a dairymaid
a dairyman
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food containing milk or milk products
she can't eat dairy
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( as modifier )
dairy produce
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dairy
1250–1300; Middle English daierie, equivalent to daie, deie dairymaid ( Old English dǣge bread maker; cognate with Old Norse deigja; see lady) + -erie -ery
Explanation
A dairy is a farm that specializes in milk and products made from milk. Cheese, yogurt, cream, and ice cream are all things that might be produced at a dairy. While one kind of dairy is a farm where cows or goats are kept and milked, other dairies focus only on making products from milk that farmers sell to them. These items themselves can also be called dairy products. Dairy comes from the Middle English daie, "dairy," which is rooted in the Old English dæge, "kneader of bread," or "female servant."
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:
BioFiltro, a company founded in Chile, puts red wigglers in a bed of chips to purify wastewater from dairy stalls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
She grew up in the south west of Victoria on a dairy farm with four brothers before training as a nurse and a midwife, according to a biography on her website.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
The typically smaller amounts of Neu5Gc consumed through dairy servings may also contribute to the difference.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
Economists are paying attention to food for signs that higher transportation costs are seeping through to prices of goods like meat and dairy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
There was the enormous dairy barn, the milking parlor, the workshop, the machine shed.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
It has invested around €51 million to boost skyr capacity in its German, Swedish and Danish dairies since 2023.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
McAfee said the 2006 outbreak opened his eyes to the risk of his product and was part of the reason he developed standards for unpasteurized dairies.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Small dairies say they are already having problems sourcing sheep's milk, which could mean possible shortages of feta going forward.
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2025
The settlement, resolving a lawsuit filed in 2022, would pay most of the historic dairies and cattle ranches on the seashore to move out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2025
They are said to eat mice, and to enter dairies sometimes for the milk spilt on the flagstones of the floor.
From Wild Life in a Southern County by Richard Jefferies
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