dairy

dairy — noun

1. a building, farm, or business where milk is collected, stored, and turned into p

1.nounB1
Definition

a building, farm, or business where milk is collected, stored, and turned into products such as butter, cheese, or yogurt for sale

Example

Nora's family runs a small dairy that delivers milk to local shops every morning.

countable: a dairy = a business or farm

The dairy outside town produces cheese that is sold all over the country.

Common collocations
  • run a dairy
  • work at a dairy
  • family dairy
  • local dairy
  • organic dairy
Synonyms
  • creamery

    specifically a place where butter and cheese are made, often larger than a farm dairy

  • dairy farm

    focuses on the farmland and raising cows, not the processing side

  • milk plant

    a large industrial processing facility, more technical in tone

Grammar Patterns

a dairy

at a dairy

dairy + noun (compound)

Usage Note

Countable noun. Often appears in compounds like dairy farm (the agricultural land) and dairy farmer (the person who runs it).

Common Mistakes

I bought dairy from the shop' (unclear which sense).
I bought dairy products from the shop.
Use dairy products or specify the item when you mean food, not the place.

2. all foods and drinks produced from milk, for example cream, yogurt, and cheese

2.nounA2
Definition

all foods and drinks produced from milk, for example cream, yogurt, and cheese

Example

Jisoo stopped eating dairy after she discovered she was lactose intolerant.

uncountable: dairy = food category; collocation: stop eating dairy

Renata always checks food labels to see if they contain dairy.

Common collocations
  • avoid dairy
  • eat dairy
  • contain dairy
  • dairy-free
  • dairy intolerance
Synonyms
  • milk products

    slightly more formal, interchangeable in most contexts

  • dairy products

    the full form, often used on food labels and in health writing

  • dairy foods

    emphasises the food category rather than the commercial product

Grammar Patterns

eat + dairy

avoid + dairy

contain + dairy

Usage Note

Uncountable when used as a category of food (I don't eat dairy). Do not use with a or an — a dairy refers to the place sense (noun/1).

Common Mistakes

I bought a dairy from the supermarket' (sounds like a farm).
I bought some dairy from the supermarket.
Dairy as a food category is uncountable.

dairy — adjective

Word family

  • dairy farm
    nounA2
  • dairy farmer
    nounB1
  • dairy farming
    nounB1
  • dairy cattle
    nounB1
  • dairy product
    nounA2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

Dairy as a food category refers broadly to everything made from milk. Milk products is the most direct synonym and is interchangeable in almost all contexts, though it sounds slightly more technical (common on nutrition labels). Dairy products is the full form that includes both the natural category and commercially processed items — you would see this on supermarket packaging and in health guidelines. Dairy foods is less common in formal writing but natural in everyday conversation ("I'm cutting back on dairy foods"). The four terms are largely interchangeable, but dairy alone is the shortest and most versatile: you can say "I avoid dairy" but not typically "I avoid milk products" in the same casual way — that would sound like a shopping list. Example: "The doctor recommended reducing dairy (or dairy products / milk products) to manage the allergy."

dairy ↗milk productsdairy productsdairy foods

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • dairy aisle
  • dairy section
  • dairy case
  • dairy alternative

Prepositions

  • at a dairy
  • from dairy
  • in dairy farming
  • on a dairy farm

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Dairy comes from Middle English deierie, meaning a place where a female servant (a deye, from Old English dæge 'kneader of bread') made butter and cheese. The word dæge is also the root of lady (literally 'bread-kneader' from hlaf 'loaf' + dæge). Over time, the place-name shifted to refer to any building or business involved in processing milk.