milk

American  

[milk] / mɪlk /

noun

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

2. 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.

3. a glass, carton, etc., of cow's milk.

   We ordered two milks for the children.

4. 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: a gentle cleansing milk for your skin.

   the milk of the rubber tree;

   a gentle cleansing milk for your skin.

5. 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: almond milk; rice milk.

   nut milks;

   almond milk;

   oat milk;

   rice milk.

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verb (used with object)

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

2. to get something from, especially in a way that exploits or defrauds.

   The swindler milked her of all her savings.

3. to elicit or draw out a response from someone: The interview was an attempt to milk some sympathy out of what should have been a private tragedy.

   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.

4. 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)

1. to yield milk, as a cow.

   We called the vet when two of our Holsteins suddenly stopped milking.

2. to milk a cow or other mammal.

idioms

1. 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.

milk British  

/ mɪlk /

noun

1. 1. a whitish nutritious fluid produced and secreted by the mammary glands of mature female mammals and used for feeding their young until weaned

   2. the milk of cows, goats, or other animals used by man as a food or in the production of butter, cheese, etc

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

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

4. to lament something that cannot be altered

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verb

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

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

3. (tr) to draw off or tap in small quantities

   to milk the petty cash

4. (tr) to extract as much money, help, etc, as possible from

   to milk a situation of its news value

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

milk Scientific  

/ mĭlk /

1. 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.

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milk More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing milk

• cry over spilt milk

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Other Word Forms

• milkless adjective
• overmilk verb
• unmilked adjective
• well-milked adjective

Etymology

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”

Example Sentences

Warm curry paste or ginger and garlic in oil, then add coconut milk and broth.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

Wallace has noticed prices for her Easter favorites, such as Russell Stover’s milk chocolate Easter bunnies, have taken a bigger chunk out of her budget each year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

One lever was low-reward -- mice needed six presses to get one drop of milk.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

McAfee said he tests every batch of milk that comes out of his milking parlors, and none have been positive for E. coli, salmonella, campylobacter, listeria or any other contaminant that causes human illness.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

I returned to the house with the milk for Auntie, and I went to my room to think about what had happened.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Related Words

• bleed
• drain
• evoke
• extort
• extract
• suck
• wring