milk cow

IPA/ˈmɪlk ˌkaʊ/
IPA/ˈmɪlk ˌkaʊ/

milk cow — noun

1. a cow raised by farmers for the milk it gives, not for beef

1.nounB1
Definition

a cow raised by farmers for the milk it gives, not for beef

Example

Luca's family keeps six milk cows on their farm in Vermont.

Noor named her favourite milk cow Daisy and fed her every morning.

Common collocations
  • keep milk cows
  • milk cow produces milk
  • healthy milk cow
Synonyms
  • dairy cow

    more common in everyday speech; used in the same way as milk cow

  • milch cow

    an older word, now less common; mainly found in older books or rural speech

Antonyms
  • beef cow

    a cow raised for its meat rather than its milk

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Milk cow and dairy cow mean the same thing and are both common, though dairy cow is slightly more frequent in everyday speech. Milch cow is an older form that you may still hear in some country areas, but it sounds dated to most speakers. Milker is an informal word used by farmers for a cow that gives a lot of milk — for example, 'That old brown cow is our best milker.' Milk cow is the simplest and clearest choice for learners.

dairy cow ↗milch cow ↗milker

Common collocations

Nouns

  • milk cow farm
  • milk cow breed

Phrases

  • keep a milk cow
  • raise milk cows

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

A simple compound of milk and cow. Milk comes from Old English meolc, and cow from Old English cū. The word milk cow has been used in English since at least the 1500s. The variant milch cow uses the older adjective milch (from Old English milce, meaning 'giving milk'), which is related to the word milk itself.