lactate
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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lactates,
present (3rd person singular)
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lactated,
past participle, past
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lactating
present participle
noun
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lactatesimple
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lactatessimple
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have lactatedperfect
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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
-
lactatedsimple
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had lactatedperfect
-
was lactatingprogressive
-
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:
Today, McCormick is busy chasing after athletes to take blood lactate levels in between their efforts, and she will continue to process and analyse them long after the session has ended.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Tanycytes respond by processing this sugar and releasing lactate, a metabolic byproduct, into nearby brain tissue.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 6, 2026
It’s made by a Swedish company called Nomio, which says it has identified a compound in the vegetable that helps lower blood lactate levels during intense exercise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
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
It may be controlled by large doses of calcium lactate.
From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexander Miles
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
Websites like Only the Breast — a platform where lactating mothers can sell or donate their milk to consumers — and Sell.com are filled with classified advertisements for fresh milk.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2025
All six were adult, lactating females, she said, with thick layers of fat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 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 Ticul Alvarez
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.
