lactate
1 Americanverb (used without object)
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lactatesimple
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lactatessimple
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have lactatedperfect
-
has lactatedperfect
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am lactatingprogressive
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are lactatingprogressive
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is lactatingprogressive
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have been lactatingperfect progressive
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has been lactatingperfect progressive
Past
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lactatedsimple
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had lactatedperfect
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was lactatingprogressive
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were lactatingprogressive
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had been lactatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lactate1
1885–90; < Latin lactātus, past participle of lactāre to suckle. See lact-, -ate 1
Origin of lactate2
First recorded in 1785–95; lact(ic acid) + -ate 2
Explanation
To lactate is to produce milk for feeding babies. All female mammals who give birth lactate. A mother cow has to lactate in order to feed her calves, and so that she can be milked by a farmer too. Mothers who nurse their babies lactate, whether they're humans, cats, goats, or skunks. Lactation, "the secretion of milk," came first, from the Late Latin lactationem, "a suckling," from the root lac, "milk."
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:
Tanycytes respond by processing this sugar and releasing lactate, a metabolic byproduct, into nearby brain tissue.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 6, 2026
Although it was not directly tested in this study, one possible explanation involves lactate, which increases in the bloodstream during intense exercise.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 23, 2026
He tailors his training to meet a targeted exertional threshold and monitors his lactate levels with pinprick blood tests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2025
The study tracked the heart rate, oxygen uptake and blood lactate levels of professional drummers in rehearsals and during live shows, the outlet said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2025
In private practice large doses of salts of iron, as four to six grains of lactate at meal-time, are satisfactory; but the form of iron is of less moment than the amount.
From Fat and Blood An Essay on the Treatment of Certain Forms of Neurasthenia and Hysteria by Mitchell, John K.
For example, the fallow deer — which is about the same size physically as a human — is pregnant for just seven months and lactates for six.
From Time ● Mar. 30, 2011
Both of the regular intravenous solutions administered in medicine, normal saline and lactated Ringer’s solution, are isotonic.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
For example, I recommended that the organizers consult with someone who had actually lactated at a conference, perhaps even a professional lactation consultant, when coordinating appropriate resources.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 30, 2018
Waddingham gained more than 30kg, developed diabetes and lactated.
From Newsweek
“It affects about 10 percent of lactating individuals,” says Sawhne.
From Slate ● Mar. 15, 2026
“There are five childhood diseases all kids are supposed to be immunized from under the age of five, because children die first in the famine, then pregnant women and lactating mothers,” Natsios said.
From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2025
“This is why we have opened the pathway to vaccine field trials even as we continue to deploy all available efforts, including emphasizing biosecurity and mandating the testing lactating dairy cattle moving across state lines.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2024
The appearance of the virus in mammary glands — in cattle and even in non lactating mice — was also unexpected.
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2024
A female taken on July 15, four miles north of Jaumave, was lactating.
From The Recent Mammals of Tamaulipas, Mexico by Alvarez, Ticul
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.
