milk

milk¹ W3S2 [mılk] n

[: Old English; Origin: meolc, milc]

1.) [U]

a white liquid produced by cows or goats that is drunk by people

▪ a bottle of milk

▪ Would you like some milk in your tea?

▪ a pint of semi-skimmed milk

2.) [U]

a white liquid produced by female animals and women for feeding their babies

▪ mothers who believe that breast milk is best for their babies

▪ The tiny fox cubs drink nothing but their mother's milk .

3.) [U]

a liquid or juice produced by particular plants, especially the ↑coconut

4.) [U and C]

a thin white liquid used to clean or protect skin

= ↑lotion

▪ a mild facial cleansing milk

5.) the milk of human kindness

literary the kind and sympathetic behaviour of most ordinary people

→↑evaporated milk

→cry over spilt milk at ↑cry¹ (3)

→land of milk and honey at ↑land¹ (8)

milk ²

milk² v [T]

1.) informal to get as much money or as many advantages as you can from a situation, in a very determined and sometimes dishonest way

milk sb/sth for sth

▪ Their landlord regularly milks them for extra money by claiming for damage to his property.

▪ He seems to be milking the incident for all it's worth (=getting as much from it as possible) .

2.) to take milk from a cow or goat

▪ I helped to milk the cows.

>milking n [U]

▪ They had risen at 5.30 to do the milking.