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milk Definition

milk (milk)

noun

  1. a white or yellowish emulsion secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals for suckling their young and usually consisting of fats, proteins, sugars, vitamins, and minerals suspended in water
  2. cow's milk, or, sometimes, that of goats, camels, etc., drunk by humans as a food or used to make butter, cheese, casein products, etc.
  3. any liquid like this, as the juice of various plants or fruits (e.g., coconut milk), or any of various emulsions

Etymology: ME < OE meolc, akin to ON mjolk, Ger milch < IE base *melĝ-, to stroke, press out, wipe off, hence to milk (an animal) > Gr amelgein, L mulgere, to milk

transitive verb

  1. to draw or squeeze milk from the mammary glands of (a cow, etc.)
  2. to draw out or drain off; extract as if by milking
  3. to drain off or extract money, ideas, strength, etc. from as if by milking; exploit
  4. to extract juice, sap, venom, etc. from
  5. to draw out (information, etc.) as if by milking

intransitive verb

  1. to give milk
  2. to draw milk

adjective

giving milk; kept for milking milk cows

milk Idioms

cry over spilt milk

to mourn or regret something that cannot be undone

milk Synonyms

milk

n.

fluid, juice, whey, sap; see liquid.

Types of milk include: whole, low-fat, skim, raw, pasteurized, homogenized, certified; loose, acidophilous, condensed, sweetened-condensed, dried, evaporated, powdered, goat's, cow's, ewe's, mare's, mother's; cream, half-and-half, baby formula, buttermilk, koumiss, kefir.

cry over spilt milk

mourn, lament, sulk; see regret.

milk Synonyms

milk

v.

drain, extract, squeeze out, bleed, suck dry; see also drain 1, 2.

milk Usage Examples

Object

cow: You can also sample real home-grown Siberian food, learn how to milk a cow.

Converse of object

  • skim: For a reduced fat version use light condensed milk, which is made using skimmed milk.
  • pasteurize: This destroys all bacteria in the milk and makes it last much longer than ordinary pasteurized milk.

Adjective modifier

  • semi-skimmed: Enjoy your coffee without the mints and ask for semi-skimmed milk to replace the cream.
  • coconut: White curries are, mild, based on coconut milk and very liquid.
  • unpasteurised: Young children, elderly people, pregnant women and people who are ill should avoid unpasteurised milk.
  • condensed: For a reduced fat version use light condensed milk, which is made using skimmed milk.
  • powdered: Hence I now use hardly any, and that which I do use is made up from powdered milk.
  • full-fat: We also supply freshly prepared baby food and fresh, full-fat milk for all children.

Modifies a noun

  • chocolate: Contains one edible milk chocolate thong ready to wear.
  • quota: In order to reduce these the EU introduced milk quotas and set-aside.
  • carton: Make a root view box by cutting a side of a milk carton.
  • thistle: Silymarin, the flavonoid extracted from milk thistle, has been studied for treating all types of liver disease.
  • allergy: It is also a good alternative to cheddar for those suffering from cow's milk allergies.

Noun used with modifier

  • soya: There's not a splash of soya milk in sight.
  • breast: Mercury has been found in the breast milk of nursing mothers.
  • soy: Soy milk, soy drink or soya milk is a beverage produced from soybeans.

Possessives

  • cow: In the UK, iodine can also be found in cows ' milk.
  • goat: The next step will be to find out whether the vaccine produced in goats ' milk also protects monkeys 5.

Preposition: in

saucepan: Meanwhile, put the butter, flour and the reserved milk in a saucepan.