milk

[ milk ]

/ mɪlk /

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See synonyms for: milk / milked / milking on Thesaurus.com

noun

an opaque white or bluish-white liquid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals, serving for the nourishment of their young.

this liquid as secreted by cows, goats, or certain other animals and used by humans for food or as a source of butter, cheeses, yogurt, etc.

a glass, carton, etc., of cow's milk: We ordered two milks for the children.

any liquid resembling the milk of animals, as the liquid within a coconut, the juice or sap of certain plants, or various pharmaceutical or cosmetic preparations: the milk of the rubber tree;a gentle cleansing milk for your skin.

a whitish, potable liquid made of ground nuts, legumes, seeds, or grain blended with water and often a sweetener, used especially as a substitute for dairy milk, its main ingredient as specified:nut milks;almond milk;oat milk;rice milk.

verb (used with object)

to press or draw milk from the udder or breast of.

to get something from, especially in a way that exploits or defrauds: The swindler milked her of all her savings.

to elicit or draw out a response from someone: He knows how to milk an audience for laughs.The interview was an attempt to milk some sympathy out of what should have been a private tragedy.

to extract with effort as if by milking; squeeze: He always has to milk the last bit of toothpaste from the tube.She tried to milk a few more billable hours out of the contract.

verb (used without object)

to yield milk, as a cow: We called the vet when two of our Holsteins suddenly stopped milking.

to milk a cow or other mammal.

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Idioms about milk

cry over spilled / spilt milk, to lament what cannot be changed or corrected; express sorrow for past actions or events: Crying over spilled milk will do you no good now.

Origin of milk

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English meol(o)ic, (Anglian) milc; cognate with German Milch, Old Norse mjōlk, Gothic miluks; akin to Latin mulgēre, Greek amélgein “to milk”

OTHER WORDS FROM milk

milk·less, adjectiveo·ver·milk, verbun·milked, adjectivewell-milked, adjective

Words nearby milk

milites gloriosi, militia, militiaman, militia movement of the 1990s, milium, milk, milk-and-water, milk bank, milk bar, milk cap, milk chocolate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use milk in a sentence

According to Van Eenennaam, the number of dairy cows in the United States decreased from around 25 million in the 1940s to around 9 million in 2007, while milk production has increased by nearly 60 percent.
Biotechnology Could Change the Cattle Industry. Will It Succeed?|Dyllan Furness|August 16, 2020|Singularity Hub
Last week, the oat milk company raised $200mm at a $2bn valuation.
Disruption, served one thread at a time: The weird world of DTC thoughtleader Twitter (1/23)|Anna Hensel|August 7, 2020|Digiday
Of course, these milk samples might feel different in the mouth.
Can we taste fat? The brain thinks so|Bethany Brookshire|July 24, 2020|Science News For Students
For producers, that creates a milk glut — at least until the supply chain can be reconfigured.
What Happens When Everyone Stays Home to Eat? (Ep. 412)|Stephen J. Dubner|April 9, 2020|Freakonomics

Without lactase, their bodies can’t properly digest the sugar found in milk.
Scientists Say: Enzyme|Carolyn Wilke|April 6, 2020|Science News For Students
And, with Coca-Cola announcing the launch of a new milk product, the beverage could be back in our hands before we know it.
History's Craziest Hangover Cures|Justin Jones|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He would shake a chilled Coke, and then spray the soda into a cold glass of milk.
History's Craziest Hangover Cures|Justin Jones|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Warm milk mixed with a spoonful of fireplace ashes seemed to also be popular among 19th century England.
History's Craziest Hangover Cures|Justin Jones|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tosi has been using cereal milk as a flavor ever since 2007, and she says it taps into a universal “memory sensor.”
Cereal Cafe’s Big Bowl of Hate|David Levesley|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You can even buy containers of their Cereal Milk in select stores.
Cereal Cafe’s Big Bowl of Hate|David Levesley|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And right after that, some nice sour milk would come splashing down into the trough of the pen.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
As soon as he was in it Squinty ran over to the trough, hoping there would be some sour milk in it.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
He watched the man put some bread and milk in a tin pan, and set it down on the floor of the basket.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
"Getting back home," answered Squinty, as he took a big drink of sour milk.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
And Squinty thought acorns were just the best things he had ever tasted, except apples, and potatoes or perhaps sour milk.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum

British Dictionary definitions for milk

milk

/ (mɪlk) /

noun

a whitish nutritious fluid produced and secreted by the mammary glands of mature female mammals and used for feeding their young until weaned
the milk of cows, goats, or other animals used by man as a food or in the production of butter, cheese, etcRelated adjectives: lacteal, lactic

any similar fluid in plants, such as the juice of a coconut

any of various milklike pharmaceutical preparations, such as milk of magnesia

cry over spilt milk to lament something that cannot be altered

verb

to draw milk from the udder of (a cow, goat, or other animal)

(intr) (of cows, goats, or other animals) to yield milk

(tr) to draw off or tap in small quantitiesto milk the petty cash

(tr) to extract as much money, help, etc, as possible fromto milk a situation of its news value

(tr) to extract venom, sap, etc, from

Word Origin for milk

Old English milc; compare Old Saxon miluk, Old High German miluh, Old Norse mjolk

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for milk

milk

[ mĭlk ]

A white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals for feeding their young beginning immediately after birth. Milk is an emulsion of proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and sugars, especially lactose, in water. The proteins in milk contain all the essential amino acids.

Other Idioms and Phrases with milk

milk

In addition to the idiom beginning with milk

milk of human kindness, the

also see:

cry over spilt milk

milk

Idioms about milk

Origin of milk

OTHER WORDS FROM milk

Words nearby milk

Words related to milk

How to use milk in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for milk

Word Origin for milk

Scientific definitions for milk

Other Idioms and Phrases with milk