breastfeed

UK/ˈbɹɛs(t)fiːd/US/ˈbɹɛs(t)fiːd/

verbB1+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,999 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: breastfeeding, breastfeeds

To breastfeed is to feed a baby from the breast. Breastfeed the baby, breastfeeding in public, choose to breastfeed.

It is protected by law in Britain, where refusing service to somebody feeding a baby is discrimination. Support matters more than instruction — most difficulties are practical and fixable with help. Formula feeding is safe, and the decision belongs to the parent.

Definitions of breastfeed

1verbbreastfeedTo feed a baby from the breast.B1+
“The nurse showed the new mother how to breastfeed her baby.”

breastfeed is a way of feeding.

Where it comes from

From breast + feed.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Babies & Growing Up

Practise this word

breastfeed in the wild

The right of women to breastfeed and to make informed choices about infant feeding.
International Baby Food Action Network
The right of women to full support for successful breastfeeding and for sound infant feeding practices.
International Baby Food Action Network
MacIntosh deals with her inability to breastfeed her baby and employs Mary as a nanny.
Cotton Mary
Improved infant formulas appeared in the mid-19th century, providing an alternative to wet nursing, and even breastfeeding itself.
History and culture of breastfeeding
A lactation room (or lactorium) is a private space where a nursing mother can breastfeed.
Lactation room

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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