milk
Americannoun
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an opaque white or bluish-white liquid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals, serving for the nourishment of their young.
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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.
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a glass, carton, etc., of cow's milk.
We ordered two milks for the children.
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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.
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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.
verb (used with object)
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to press or draw milk from the udder or breast of.
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to get something from, especially in a way that exploits or defrauds.
The swindler milked her of all her savings.
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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.
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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)
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to yield milk, as a cow.
We called the vet when two of our Holsteins suddenly stopped milking.
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to milk a cow or other mammal.
idioms
noun
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a whitish nutritious fluid produced and secreted by the mammary glands of mature female mammals and used for feeding their young until weaned
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the milk of cows, goats, or other animals used by man as a food or in the production of butter, cheese, etc
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any similar fluid in plants, such as the juice of a coconut
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any of various milklike pharmaceutical preparations, such as milk of magnesia
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to lament something that cannot be altered
verb
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to draw milk from the udder of (a cow, goat, or other animal)
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(intr) (of cows, goats, or other animals) to yield milk
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(tr) to draw off or tap in small quantities
to milk the petty cash
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(tr) to extract as much money, help, etc, as possible from
to milk a situation of its news value
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(tr) to extract venom, sap, etc, from
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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milksimple
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milkssimple
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have milkedperfect
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has milkedperfect
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am milkingprogressive
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are milkingprogressive
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is milkingprogressive
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have been milkingperfect progressive
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has been milkingperfect progressive
Past
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milkedsimple
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had milkedperfect
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was milkingprogressive
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were milkingprogressive
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had been milkingperfect progressive
Future
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”
Explanation
Milk is the white liquid that female mammals produce for feeding their babies. Nursing human mothers feed their infants milk, and so do mother goats, cows, dogs, and cats. If you love to drink milk, you're probably a fan of the kind that comes from cows on farms and is sold in grocery stores. However, if you're allergic to this kind of milk, you might drink one of the beverages also known as milk that are made from soaking beans, nuts, rice, or even coconut in water until it becomes rich, white, and milky. To milk is to extract or draw milk from a plant or animal.
Vocabulary lists containing milk
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Americans were buying their milk in stores now—which was why George Wood’s grandson, Grahame Wood, opened one in Folsom, Pa., in 1964.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Extreme heat has cut milk production by up to 20% and farmers are spending thousands of pounds to keep their cattle cool and protect milk yields.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
And following a cyberattack on its Fairlife milk segment, the company said most production had resumed at its four U.S. facilities, with availability on store shelves “largely unimpacted.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Inspired by traditional Indian cooking and Southeast Asian flavors, this Food52 recipe bathes and simmers sautéed heads of romaine in a delicious mixture of gingery coconut milk, fresh lime juice and fish sauce.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
“You can have a pineapple milk shake when we get home. You can have three pineapple milk shakes, all in one day.”
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
Don’t have a lot, and please don’t put milks and stuff in it.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 20, 2026
Among the healthier options are whole-grain breads, some soy and almond milks and some plant-based meat alternatives, said Maya Vadiveloo, associate professor of nutrition at the University of Rhode Island.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
Drinks high in sugar can include fizzy sodas, energy drinks, sweetened juices, squashes, sweetened tea and coffee, and flavored milks.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 18, 2026
When it comes to making a fiber-rich cup of joe, plant-based milks are a great addition, says Nethra Rajendran, Beverage Experience Developer, Oatly North America.
From Salon ● Jan. 17, 2026
Kojo and Jake were in the cafeteria with the last two chocolate milks they could find in the cooler.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
At Kurlender's farm, work has continued largely as normal, with dozens of cows lining up to be milked at midday.
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
Some of them—say, Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino’s 2012 motorcycle crash with a female employee–even get milked for comic relief.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 13, 2025
He said his cows are meticulously cleaned before they are milked.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2024
We milked the cows before and after our trip.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2024
She had milked a goat, she realised with a start.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
The cows like it too, it seems, and crucially, they linger in the milking parlour, clearly cool and relaxed.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
He has already moved on from assailing the frontier labs to milking them by selling them compute at a steep markup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The steady pulsing of milking machines mingled with a thumping musical beat as McAfee marched down the rows, pointing to their light pink udders.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Podcasting can be a great business if you’re good at it, but I’m not sure anyone has ever been this adept at milking shareholder value out of a pair of mics.
From Slate ● Apr. 7, 2026
“And if I ever find a giant cow milking trophy, I’ll buy it for you,” Kendra offered.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
