lactation
Americannoun
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the secretion or formation of milk.
-
the period of milk production.
noun
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the secretion of milk from the mammary glands after parturition
-
the period during which milk is secreted
Other Word Forms
- hyperlactation noun
- lactational adjective
- lactationally adverb
- overlactation noun
- superlactation noun
Etymology
Origin of lactation
1660–70; < Late Latin lactātiōn- (stem of lactātiō ) a giving suck. See lactate 1, -ion
Explanation
When a mammal produces milk to feed her young, the process is called lactation. It's lactation that allows a mother pig to nurse her adorable piglets. Lactation is one of the basic things all mammal mothers have in common. After giving birth, humans and other mammals naturally start the process of lactation, the amazing ability to provide all the nutrition a newborn baby needs. The word lactation comes from a Latin word root meaning "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.
“It’s often misattributed to postpartum depression,” says lactation consultant Allison Alexander.
From Slate • Mar. 15, 2026
“Women live longer, they experience different things like pregnancy and lactation, menstruation and menopause, and they have different disease risks,” said Dr. McKale Montgomery, a nutritionist at Oklahoma State University.
From Salon • Jan. 13, 2025
However, the pandemic also presented significant barriers, including limited access to lactation support and heightened maternal stress.
From Science Daily • Nov. 18, 2024
Of bigger concern is the outstanding question of whether infected cows will rebound in their next lactation cycle — after they’ve had time to “dry out” and heal.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2024
With the cessation of lactation the female reenters somer and becomes once more a perfect androgyne.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
