suckle

[suhk-uh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR suckle ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), suck·led, suck·ling.

to nurse at the breast or udder.

to nourish or bring up.

to put to suck.

verb (used without object), suck·led, suck·ling.

to suck at the breast or udder.

RELATED WORDS

nurture, nourish

Nearby words

Origin of suckle

1375–1425; late Middle English sucklen; see suck, -le

Related formsun·suck·led, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for suckle

It is Ma who suggests to Rose of Sharon that she suckle a starving man.
Is There a Ma Joad for the Piketty Era?|Katie Baker|July 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When the young has attained a certain size, the mother removes it from the pouch, but takes it in from time to time to suckle it.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia|Frank Evers Beddard
Because the mother will not be likely to recover so long as she continues to suckle at all.
Remarks on the Subject of Lactation|Edward Morton
Nevertheless, she was able to suckle the infant, who did well from its birth and throve rapidly.
The Devil's Garden|W. B. Maxwell

On those occasions the Indians oblige their wives who have milk in their breasts to suckle them.
A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean in the Years 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772|Samuel Hearne
It is natural that a woman should suckle her infant; that she should watch over its early childhood.
The First Essay on the Political Rights of Women|Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat Condorcet

British Dictionary definitions for suckle

suckle

verb

to give (a baby or young animal) milk from the breast or (of a baby, etc) to suck milk from the breast

(tr) to bring up; nurture

Derived Formssuckler, noun

Word Origin for suckle

C15: probably back formation from suckling

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

Word Origin and History for suckle

suckle

c.1400, perhaps a causative form of Middle English suken "to suck" (see suck), or a back-formation from suckling (though this word is attested only from mid-15c.). Related: Suckled; suckling.