milk cow

American  

noun

1. a cow that is raised for its milk rather than for beef.

2. Informal. a source of easily gained income; profitable venture.

   The new subsidiary turns out to be a real milk cow.

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Etymology

Origin of milk cow

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

milk cow

The latter film is one of Keaton’s lesser-known but still brilliantly limned stone-faced satires, in this case involving cowpokes and its star’s tender feelings for a milk cow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025

Travolta’s character, Bud, at one point remarks that when he was born, his father sold a milk cow to pay the physician who delivered him.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 27, 2022

He is dressed in jeans, a black polo shirt and, because Wisconsin calls itself “America’s Dairyland,” a white cap with black splotches that are meant to suggest the side of a milk cow.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 8, 2021

Only the milk cow, Star, who had come into our family as my brother’s 4-H project, was ever named.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2021

And then along came this spotted one that was just raw-boned and ugly enough to make a good milk cow.

From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson