milk

milk — noun

1. A white drink that comes from female animals like cows and goats, which people d

1.nounA1
Definition

A white drink that comes from female animals like cows and goats, which people drink or turn into butter, cheese, and yogurt.

Example

Linh pours a glass of cold milk every morning before school.

a glass of milk — common quantity phrase

The farmer stores the goat's milk in large metal containers.

Common collocations
  • fresh milk
  • raw milk
  • whole milk
  • skim milk
  • low-fat milk
  • warm milk
  • cold milk
  • a glass of milk
  • a carton of milk
Synonyms
  • dairy

    used as a noun for milk and milk products, or as an adjective: dairy farm, dairy products

  • udder

    the body part that stores milk; not a synonym for the liquid itself

Grammar Patterns

milk + is/was

a glass/carton of milk

milk from + [animal]

Usage Note

Often used before a noun to describe an animal raised for milking: a milk cow, a milk goat, a milk sheep. This attributive use covers what some dictionaries list as a separate 'giving milk' adjective.

Common Mistakes

I need a milk.
I need some milk.' or 'I need a carton of milk.
'milk' is uncountable in this sense.

2. The liquid that a mother's body makes in her breasts to feed her baby during the

2.nounA2
Definition

The liquid that a mother's body makes in her breasts to feed her baby during the first months of life.

Example

The nurse told Élise that breast milk gives babies all the nutrients they need.

health register: breast milk gives babies nutrients

The hospital has a quiet room where mothers can feed their babies with breast milk.

Common collocations
  • breast milk
  • mother's milk
  • feed breast milk
  • store breast milk
  • express milk
  • breastfeed
Synonyms
  • mother's milk

    more informal, often used in parenting contexts

  • colostrum

    the thick yellowish early milk produced in the first days after birth; a special sub-type, not a general synonym

Grammar Patterns

breast milk + verb

feed + [baby] + breast milk

Usage Note

When context is clear, speakers may drop 'breast' and simply say 'milk' (e.g. 'The baby needs her milk'). Distinguish from sense 1 by the subject (a mother / a female mammal).

Common Mistakes

The cow's milk is for her calf.' (ambiguous — avoid if you mean sense 2)
Add 'breast' if the context does not make the mammal clear.

3. A white drink created from plants like soybeans, oats, or almonds that people us

3.nounB1
Definition

A white drink created from plants like soybeans, oats, or almonds that people use in place of animal milk.

Example

Wren prefers oat milk in her coffee because it has a milder flavour.

comparative: oat milk vs cow's milk

Soy milk is a popular choice among people who do not drink animal products.

Common collocations
  • soy milk
  • oat milk
  • almond milk
  • coconut milk
  • rice milk
  • plant-based milk
  • non-dairy milk
  • a carton of oat milk
Synonyms
  • plant milk

    the umbrella term; less common than specific names like 'soy milk' or 'oat milk'

  • non-dairy milk

    emphasises what it is not (not from an animal); common in dietary labelling

Grammar Patterns

[type] + milk

a carton of + [type] + milk

Usage Note

The noun is often preceded by the source plant name: soy milk, oat milk, almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk. In everyday speech, people may say just 'milk' when the context is clear (e.g. 'I put milk in my coffee' — could be cow's milk or plant-based).

Common Mistakes

I drink a soy milk.
I drink soy milk.
treat as uncountable unless referring to a serving (a soy milk latte).

4. A thick white or yellow liquid that flows out of certain plants when their stems

4.nounC1
Definition

A thick white or yellow liquid that flows out of certain plants when their stems, leaves, or fruits are cut, such as the sap of rubber trees or poppies.

Example

Selim wore thick gloves while cutting the stems because the white milk can irritate the skin.

The rubber tree produces a milky sap that workers turn into tyres and other products.

industrial process: collect → turn into products

Common collocations
  • plant milk
  • rubber milk
  • tree milk
  • white sap
  • collect milk
  • milk from a rubber tree
Synonyms
  • latex

    the standard technical term; 'milk' is more informal

  • sap

    broader term for all plant fluids, not just white ones

Grammar Patterns

the milk of + [plant]

collect milk + from + [plant]

Usage Note

This sense is specialised to botany and materials science. The more common word for this substance in general use is 'sap' or 'latex'. 'Milk' here is most often used for rubber tree sap and poppy sap.

Idioms

cry over spilt milk

idiom

To waste time feeling upset or worried about something that has already happened and cannot be changed or undone.

Ayana told her brother there was no use crying over spilt milk — the window was already broken.

The team lost the match, but the coach said they should not cry over spilt milk and should focus on the next game instead.

the milk of human kindness

idiom

Natural kindness, sympathy, and care that people show towards others, especially in difficult situations.

David has always been generous; the milk of human kindness flows through everything he does.

In the novel, the villain seems cruel at first but later shows the milk of human kindness when he helps the lost child.

land of milk and honey

idiom

A place where life is comfortable and pleasant, with plenty of food, money, and opportunities for everyone.

Early settlers wrote letters home describing America as a land of milk and honey.

Wren quickly realised that the new city was no land of milk and honey — rent was high and jobs were scarce.

the land of milk and honey

idiom

An imaginary or real place where everything is perfect and people live happily without problems.

Maya thought the new city would be a land of milk and honey.

Is that small town really the land of milk and honey that travelers describe?

milk — verb

Word family

  • milky
    adjectiveB1
  • milking
    nounB2
  • milkman
    nounB1
  • milker
    nounC1
  • milkmaid
    nounB2
  • dairy
    nounA2
  • dairy
    adjectiveB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/2

All four verbs describe taking advantage of a person or situation, but with different shades of meaning and intensity. 'Milk' (this sense) implies drawing out value slowly and persistently, often with a sense of unfairness — like a tabloid milking a scandal. 'Exploit' is the broadest and most formal; it can be neutral (exploit a resource) or strongly negative (exploit workers). 'Squeeze' uses the same physical-pressure image as milk but is more aggressive, suggesting pressure or coercion: 'The gang squeezed local shopkeepers for protection money.' 'Bleed' is the strongest, implying the victim is being drained endlessly: 'Lawyers bled the family dry with court fees.' 'Drain' focuses on exhaustion of resources: 'Years of war drained the country's finances.' Choose 'milk' for situations involving sustained, calculated extraction of value; choose 'bleed' or 'drain' when emphasising the total depletion of the victim.

exploit ↗squeeze ↗bleed ↗drain ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • a glass of milk
  • a carton of milk
  • a bottle of milk
  • a splash of milk
  • milk and cookies
  • milk and cereal

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishEnglish

The word 'milk' comes from Old English 'meoluc' or 'meolc', which traces back to the Proto-Germanic word '*meluks'. This Germanic root goes even further back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*melg-', meaning 'to rub off' or 'to stroke' — the same motion that people use when milking an animal by hand. Related words appear in many Indo-European languages: Latin 'mulgēre' (to milk), Greek 'amélgein', and Sanskrit 'márjati' (to wipe). The figurative verb sense of exploiting someone (verb sense 2) developed in the early 1800s.