milk
milk — noun
1. a white liquid from cows and similar animals that people drink and use to make f
a white liquid from cows and similar animals that people drink and use to make foods such as butter or cheese
Emma poured cold milk over the cornflakes before catching the school bus.
pour milk over cereal
The cafe steams fresh milk for each cappuccino during the morning rush.
steamed milk for coffee
Ari bought two bottles of milk after work for tomorrow's pancakes.
Warm milk helped Caleb settle down after the long flight home.
- drink milk
- a bottle of milk
- warm milk
- steamed milk
Grammar Patterns
drink milk
a bottle of milk
milk for + food or drink
Usage Note
Usually uncountable when you mean the drink in general. Use a container word such as glass, bottle, or carton when you want to count it.
Common Mistakes
2. the liquid made in a woman's or female animal's body for feeding a baby or young
the liquid made in a woman's or female animal's body for feeding a baby or young animal
The nurse checked whether the newborn was drinking enough milk.
milk for feeding a newborn
Amira stored extra milk in the fridge after feeding her twins.
store milk after feeding
The doctor said the sick kitten still needed its mother's milk.
mother's milk
Inês froze milk in small bags for the next hospital visit.
- breast milk
- mother's milk
- pump milk
- frozen milk
Grammar Patterns
breast milk
mother's milk
store milk
Usage Note
Often appears with breast or mother's before milk. Distinguish it from sense 1, which refers to the milk people buy as food or drink.
3. a pale drink made from plants, beans, or nuts and used in the same way as cow's
a pale drink made from plants, beans, or nuts and used in the same way as cow's milk
Tomás orders soy milk because ordinary milk upsets his stomach.
soy milk as a dairy substitute
The recipe tastes best when oat milk replaces cream in the soup.
oat milk in cooking
Mizuki keeps almond milk in the office fridge for her tea.
The supermarket moved the coconut milk beside the cereal drinks.
- soy milk
- oat milk
- almond milk
- coconut milk
Grammar Patterns
soy milk
oat milk
almond milk
Usage Note
This sense is usually named by the ingredient, such as soy milk or oat milk. Distinguish it from sense 4, which is liquid inside a plant rather than a prepared drink.
4. a thick white juice that comes out of some plants or trees when they are cut
a thick white juice that comes out of some plants or trees when they are cut
White milk dripped from the fig branch after Sahil cut it.
milk from a cut branch
The gardener warned that the plant's milk could irritate bare skin.
plant's milk can irritate skin
The cut stem released milk onto Tariq's gloves.
Farm workers avoided the vine's milk while clearing the fence line.
- plant's milk
- white milk
- milk from the stem
- fig branch milk
Grammar Patterns
plant's milk
milk from the stem
white milk from a branch
Usage Note
Used mainly when describing plants and gardening. Unlike sense 3, this liquid comes directly from the plant and is not something people drink.
milk — verb
- milkpresent simple I / you / we / they
- milks3rd person singular
- milking-ing form
- milkedpast simple
1. to take milk from a cow, goat, or similar animal, usually by hand or machine
to take milk from a cow, goat, or similar animal, usually by hand or machine
Christopher milks the goats before sunrise every winter morning.
milk + animal
The farmer taught Ari to milk the cow with steady hands.
milk the cow
Machines milk the herd twice a day in the new barn.
machines milk the herd
After the storm, Emma milked the nervous sheep by hand.
- milk the cows
- milk by hand
- milk twice a day
- milking machine
Grammar Patterns
milk + animal
milk by hand
milk before dawn
Usage Note
Usually takes the animal as its object. In farm talk, speakers can also use it for the daily task itself, as in We milk before dawn.
Common Mistakes
2. to keep getting money, help, or information from someone or something for as lon
to keep getting money, help, or information from someone or something for as long as possible, often unfairly
The tabloid milked the actor's breakup for another week of headlines.
milk something for attention or profit
Some callers tried to milk Inês for private details about the case.
milk someone for information
The company keeps milking the old brand instead of building something new.
keep milking + noun
Caleb milked every delay for extra overtime pay on the trip.
- milk a story
- milk someone for information
- milk the brand
- milk the situation
Grammar Patterns
milk someone for information
milk something for profit
keep milking + noun
Usage Note
Often followed by for plus money, information, or advantage. This sense usually sounds critical because it suggests taking too much from a person or situation.
Common Mistakes
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/2
Milk often suggests taking repeated advantage of a story, person, or situation for as long as it keeps producing value. Exploit is broader and more formal, while fleece is stronger and usually points to cheating someone out of money.
Common collocations
Etymology
Milk comes from Old English meoluc, from an older Germanic root also seen in German Milch and Dutch melk.
First known use
12th century
12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a Verb