wean

American  

[ween] / win /

verb (used with object)

1. to accustom (a child or young animal) to food other than mother's milk; cause to lose the need to suckle or turn to the mother for food.

2. to withdraw (a person, the affections, one's dependency, etc.) from some object, habit, form of enjoyment, or the like.

   The need to reduce had weaned us from rich desserts.

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verb phrase

1. wean on to accustom to; to familiarize with from, or as if from, childhood.

   a brilliant student weaned on the classics;

   suburban kids weaned on rock music.

wean ¹ British  

/ wiːn /

verb

1. to cause (a child or young mammal) to replace mother's milk by other nourishment

2. (usually foll by from) to cause to desert former habits, pursuits, etc

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wean ² British  

/ weɪn, wiːn /

noun

1. dialect a child; infant

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Other Word Forms

• postweaning
  adjective
• preweaning
  adjective
• unweaned
  adjective
• weanedness
  noun
• weaning
  noun

Etymology

Origin of wean

First recorded before 1000; Middle English wenen, Old English wenian; cognate with Dutch wennen, German gewöhnen, Old Norse venja “to accustom”

Explanation

To wean yourself from something is to gradually eliminate that thing from your life. You may want to wean yourself from watching too much TV, drinking two pots of coffee every morning, or obsessively reading the celebrity columns. To wean an infant — human or animal — you gradually reduce consumption of mother’s milk or bottled milk until the little one is no longer nursing or bottle-feeding. If you want to wean yourself from eating chocolate chip cookies, go from eating eight a day to only seven for the next few days, then to six for a few days and so on until you're no longer eating any chocolate chip cookies.

Example Sentences

The next minute, another says: "I'm firmly of the view we must not doomscroll our way through leaders - we have to wean ourselves off it."

From BBC • May 2, 2026

In the longer term, the war will undoubtedly inspire countries that have to import energy to redouble efforts to wean themselves off fossil fuels.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

The investment in Voltify is one of several options Fortescue is exploring as it seeks to wean its own railroad off fossil fuels.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

The Labor Department proposal is the latest effort to wean U.S. tech companies and other employers off skilled foreign labor.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

Arthur had managed to wean Sir Aglovale from his revenge, it is true, and the old feud seemed to have healed over.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

• discourage