MILK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Milk mean? 

• MILK (noun)
  The noun MILK has 4 senses:

1. a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings

2. produced by mammary glands of female mammals for feeding their young

3. a river that rises in the Rockies in northwestern Montana and flows eastward to become a tributary of the Missouri River

4. any of several nutritive milklike liquids

  Familiarity information: MILK used as a noun is uncommon.

• MILK (verb)
  The verb MILK has 3 senses:

1. take milk from female mammals

2. exploit as much as possible

3. add milk to

  Familiarity information: MILK used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MILK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("milk" is a kind of...):

dairy product (milk and butter and cheese)

beverage; drink; drinkable; potable (any liquid suitable for drinking)

Meronyms (substance of "milk"):

protein (any of a large group of nitrogenous organic compounds that are essential constituents of living cells; consist of polymers of amino acids; essential in the diet of animals for growth and for repair of tissues; can be obtained from meat and eggs and milk and legumes)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "milk"):

evaporated milk (milk concentrated by evaporation)

chocolate milk (milk flavored with chocolate syrup)

buttermilk (residue from making butter from sour raw milk; or pasteurized milk curdled by adding a culture)

low-fat milk (milk from which some of the cream has been removed)

whole milk (milk from which no constituent (such as fat) has been removed)

semi-skimmed milk (milk from which some of the cream has been removed)

skim milk; skimmed milk (milk from which the cream has been skimmed)

condensed milk (sweetened evaporated milk)

dried milk; dry milk; milk powder; powdered milk (dehydrated milk)

certified milk (milk from dairies regulated by an authorized medical milk commission)

homogenized milk (milk with the fat particles broken up and dispersed uniformly so the cream will not rise)

scalded milk (milk heated almost to boiling)

raw milk (unpasteurized milk)

acidophilus milk (milk fermented by bacteria; used to treat gastrointestinal disorders)

goats' milk (the milk of a goat)

yak's milk (the milk of a yak)

cows' milk (milk obtained from dairy cows)

pasteurized milk (milk that has been exposed briefly to high temperatures to destroy microorganisms and prevent fermentation)

sour milk (milk that has turned sour)

Derivation:

milk (take milk from female mammals)

milk (add milk to)

milky (resembling milk in color; not clear)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Produced by mammary glands of female mammals for feeding their young

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("milk" is a kind of...):

aliment; alimentation; nourishment; nutriment; nutrition; sustenance; victuals (a source of materials to nourish the body)

bodily fluid; body fluid; humor; humour; liquid body substance (the liquid parts of the body)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "milk"):

colostrum; foremilk (milky fluid secreted for the first day or two after parturition)

mother's milk (milk secreted by a woman who has recently given birth)

Derivation:

milk (take milk from female mammals)

milk (add milk to)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A river that rises in the Rockies in northwestern Montana and flows eastward to become a tributary of the Missouri River

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

Milk; Milk River

Instance hypernyms:

river (a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek))

Holonyms ("Milk" is a part of...):

Mont.; Montana; MT; Treasure State (a state in northwestern United States on the Canadian border)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Any of several nutritive milklike liquids

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("milk" is a kind of...):

food product; foodstuff (a substance that can be used or prepared for use as food)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "milk"):

coconut milk; coconut water (clear to whitish fluid from within a fresh coconut)

coconut cream; coconut milk (white liquid obtained from compressing fresh coconut meat)

soya milk; soybean milk; soymilk (a milk substitute containing soybean flour and water; used in some infant formulas and in making tofu)

formula (a liquid food for infants)

Derivation:

milk (add milk to)

• MILK (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they milk    ... he / she / it milks   
Past simple: milked   
Past participle: milked   
-ing form: milking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Take milk from female mammals

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

Cows need to be milked every morning

Hypernyms (to "milk" is one way to...):

draw; take out (take liquid out of a container or well)

Verb group:

milk (add milk to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "milk"):

strip (draw the last milk (of cows))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

milk (produced by mammary glands of female mammals for feeding their young)

milk (a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Exploit as much as possible

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Context example:

I am milking this for all it's worth

Hypernyms (to "milk" is one way to...):

exploit; tap (draw from; make good use of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They milk him of all his money

Sense 3

Meaning:

Add milk to

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

milk the tea

Hypernyms (to "milk" is one way to...):

add (make an addition (to); join or combine or unite with others; increase the quality, quantity, size or scope of)

Verb group:

milk (take milk from female mammals)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

milk (produced by mammary glands of female mammals for feeding their young)

milk (a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings)

milk (any of several nutritive milklike liquids)

 Context examples 

Yet the consumption of dairy products is on the decline, falling short of the level recommended in many countries, as the potential benefits of milk and dairy products are starting to be questioned.

(Adequate intake of milk and dairy products in different life stages helps prevent chronic diseases, University of Granada)

Women who don't have health problems should try to give their babies breast milk for at least the first six months of life.

(Breastfeeding, NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)

However, 'the milk that is spilt cries not out afterwards,' as you say.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Scientists previously found that infants allergic to cow’s milk had different compositions of gut microbes than non-allergic infants.

(Gut microbes from healthy infants block milk allergy development in mice, National Institutes of Health)

“Then you won't have none tomorrow. D'ye hear? Not a fragment of milk you won't have tomorrow.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A. cryaerophilus has been isolated from the reproductive tract, feces and milk from animals and may be pathogenic in both animals and humans.

(Arcobacter cryaerophilus, NCI Thesaurus)

An oral milk protein-based nutritional supplement.

(Milk Protein-Based Energy Drink, NCI Thesaurus)

Humans are infected by ingesting unpasteurized milk or meat from infected animals.

(Brucellosis, NCI Thesaurus)

While we were thus engaged, I observed a cow passing by, whereupon I pointed to her, and expressed a desire to go and milk her.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

You've a brother in San Leandro or Haywards, and he's in the milk business.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)