lamb
lamb — noun
1. a young animal with a thick woolly coat that is less than one year old, or the p
a young animal with a thick woolly coat that is less than one year old, or the pinkish-brown meat from this animal used as food
The farmer's dog helped guide the <hl>lamb</hl> back to its mother in the field.
countable noun: referring to the animal
For Sunday dinner, Christopher roasted a leg of <hl>lamb</hl> with garlic and herbs.
uncountable noun: meat as food
A newborn <hl>lamb</hl> stood on shaky legs just minutes after entering the world.
countable noun: newborn animal
The restaurant's special tonight is grilled <hl>lamb</hl> chops served with mint sauce.
specific meat dish
Yuki fed a bottle of warm milk to the orphaned <hl>lamb</hl> in the barn.
countable noun: animal care context
- roast lamb
- lamb chops
- leg of lamb
- lamb stew
- newborn lamb
- spring lamb
Grammar Patterns
lamb as countable noun for the animal
lamb as uncountable noun for the meat
Usage Note
Countable when referring to the living animal; uncountable when referring to the meat. The plural form 'lambs' refers to multiple young sheep.
Common Mistakes
2. a gentle, sweet-natured person, most often a young child, who seems innocent and
a gentle, sweet-natured person, most often a young child, who seems innocent and in need of care
Little Mia is such a gentle <hl>lamb</hl> — she always shares her toys with the other children.
simile: gentle lamb describing a child
The old grandmother called her youngest grandson her dear little <hl>lamb</hl>.
term of endearment
Élise described her shy student as a <hl>lamb</hl> who never caused any trouble in class.
metaphor for a well-behaved person
After a long day at work, Roya's toddler curled up in her lap like a peaceful <hl>lamb</hl>.
simile: peaceful lamb
- gentle lamb
- little lamb
- like a lamb
- my lamb
- angel
more general term for a very kind or good person; stronger religious connotation
- sweetheart
common term of endearment; less emphasis on innocence
Grammar Patterns
someone is a lamb
Usage Note
Often used as a term of endearment in British English ('my lamb'). Can be used either as a direct address ('There, there, my lamb') or as a description ('She's a lamb').
3. someone who is easily tricked or taken advantage of, especially in situations in
someone who is easily tricked or taken advantage of, especially in situations involving money or business deals
The con artist saw the wealthy tourist as a <hl>lamb</hl> ready to be fleeced of his savings.
lamb as easy target for fraud
Nikhil refused to be a <hl>lamb</hl> for the investment plan that promised impossible returns.
refusing to be a victim
Elderly people are sometimes treated as <hl>lambs</hl> by dishonest salespeople offering fake services.
plural form describing a vulnerable group
The young lawyer warned her client not to go like a <hl>lamb</hl> into the settlement meeting unprepared.
expression: like a lamb to the...
- lamb to the slaughter
- fleece the lamb
- like a lamb
- target
more general; refers to the object of an attack or scam without the innocence connotation
- victim
someone who has already been harmed; 'lamb' emphasizes vulnerability before the harm occurs
- sitting duck
informal term for someone in a defenseless position; similar connotation of easy prey
Grammar Patterns
someone is a lamb for/to someone
lamb + to + infinitive
Usage Note
Common in financial contexts. Often collocates with verbs like 'fleece', 'cheat', 'deceive', or 'take advantage of'. The expression 'like a lamb to the slaughter' is a related idiom describing someone going into danger unaware.
Common Mistakes
4. William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848), a British politician who serve
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848), a British politician who served as Prime Minister and was a close advisor to Queen Victoria
Lord Melbourne, whose family name was <hl>Lamb</hl>, served as Prime Minister twice during the 1830s.
proper noun: historical figure
The Australian city of Melbourne was named after William <hl>Lamb</hl>, the 2nd Viscount Melbourne.
namesake of a major city
William <hl>Lamb</hl> entered the House of Commons as a Whig politician in 1805.
political career start
As a young man, <hl>Lamb</hl> served as an aide to the British commander in Ireland.
early military service
Usage Note
This is a proper noun referring specifically to the British statesman. Not a general sense of the word 'lamb'. The title 'Viscount Melbourne' eventually became the name of the Australian city Melbourne.
5. Willis Eugene Lamb Jr. (1913–2008), an American physicist who won the Nobel Priz
Willis Eugene Lamb Jr. (1913–2008), an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize for his work on the fine structure of the hydrogen spectrum
Willis Eugene <hl>Lamb</hl> received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1955 for his discovery concerning the hydrogen spectrum.
proper noun: Nobel laureate
Willis <hl>Lamb</hl> found that two types of energy inside a simple atom are slightly different.
Nobel-winning discovery about atoms
Willis <hl>Lamb</hl> designed careful experiments to study how atoms give off light, changing what scientists knew about them.
experimental research method
After winning the Nobel Prize, <hl>Lamb</hl> continued teaching physics at several major universities.
academic career after Nobel
Usage Note
This is a proper noun referring specifically to the American physicist. The term 'Lamb shift' in quantum physics derives from his name.
This describes people who are about to do something dangerous without knowing it.
The new soldiers went into battle like lambs to the slaughter.
Did the investors realize they were lambs to the slaughter?
If you will be punished anyway, you might as well do the bigger wrong thing.
Maya thought she might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, so she took the whole cake.
Since you're already in trouble, you may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb and tell the truth.
An insulting term for an older woman trying to look younger, especially by wearing youthful clothes.
Critics called the actress mutton dressed as lamb for wearing a teenage dress at the awards.
Aunt Sara looked like mutton dressed as lamb in that short skirt and bright makeup.
lamb — verb
1. (of a female sheep) to go through the process of giving birth to a baby sheep
(of a female sheep) to go through the process of giving birth to a baby sheep
The oldest ewe on the farm <hl>lambed</hl> safely in the barn during the spring snowstorm.
intransitive: sheep + lambed + circumstance
Most of our sheep usually <hl>lamb</hl> in early March when the weather starts to warm up.
simple present: seasonal pattern
The farmer stayed up all night to help the pregnant ewe <hl>lamb</hl> when difficulties arose.
to-infinitive after 'help'
Soraya checked the pregnant sheep every two hours to see which ones had <hl>lambed</hl> overnight.
past participle: perfect aspect
- lamb in spring
- ewe lambs
- lambing season
- lamb safely
- give birth
general term applicable to all mammals; less specific to sheep farming
Grammar Patterns
ewe + lambs (intransitive)
ewe + lambs + an adverb of time/place
Usage Note
Almost exclusively used with female sheep (ewes) as the subject. Passive constructions are rare. The noun 'lambing' (e.g., 'lambing season') is more common in general farming contexts than the verb form.
Common Mistakes
lamb — idiom
Charles Lamb
idiomCharles Lamb (1775–1834), an English essayist, poet, and critic best known for his essays written under the pen name 'Elia' and for co-writing 'Tales from Shakespeare' with his sister Mary Lamb
Charles <hl>Lamb</hl>'s essay 'A Dissertation upon Roast Pig' is considered a classic of English humorous writing.
In 1807, Mary and Charles <hl>Lamb</hl> published 'Tales from Shakespeare', a children's version of the plays.
Word family
- lambingnounB2
- lambkinnounC2
- lamblikeadjectiveC1
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
'Lamb' refers specifically to a young sheep under one year old, or its meat. 'Sheep' is the general term for the animal at any age — an adult is not called a lamb. 'Hogget' (less common) describes a sheep between one and two years old, older than a lamb but not fully mature. 'Ewe' is an adult female sheep, while 'ram' is an adult male. In cooking, 'lamb' denotes meat from a younger animal (milder flavour), whereas 'mutton' comes from older sheep. For example, you would order 'roast lamb' at a restaurant, not 'roast sheep,' and a farmer would say 'the ewes are lambing' (giving birth to lambs), not 'the sheep are sheeping.'
Common collocations
Etymology
The word 'lamb' comes from Old English 'lamb' (neuter noun), which can be traced back through Proto-Germanic '*lambaz' to a possible Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'young animal.' The word has remained remarkably stable in form across Germanic languages — compare German 'Lamm,' Dutch 'lam,' and Old Norse 'lamb.' The verb sense (to give birth to a lamb) developed from the noun in Middle English.