Definition of suckle
1a : to give milk to from the breast or udder a mothersuckling her child
1b : to nurture as if by giving milk from the breast wassuckled on pulp magazines
2: to draw milk from the breast or udder of lambs sucklingthe ewes
Examples of suckle in a Sentence
a cat suckling her kittens
the image of a mother suckling her babe is a standard artistic symbol of maternal love and nurturing
Recent Examples of sucklefrom the Web
Beautifully roasted suckling pigs were carried to a stout side table.
—Jonathan Gold, latimes.com, "Jonathan Gold considers his favorite dishes from Food Bowl 2017", 26 May 2017
No one is going to serve roast suckling pig or goblets of mead — or any other food —
—Laurel Graeber, New York Times, "Events for Children in NYC This Week", 25 May 2017
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'suckle'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of suckle
Middle English suklen, probably back-formation from suklyng
suckle Synonyms
Synonyms
breast-feed, nurse, wet-nurse
Related Words
bottle-feed
Near Antonyms
wean
Phrases Related to SUCKLE
suckling pig
Definition of suckle for English Language Learners
: to give (a baby or young animal) milk from a breast or from an udder
suckling
: to feed from the breast or udder