Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Secretion or formation of milk by the mammary glands.
  • noun The period during which the mammary glands secrete milk.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The formation or secretion of milk; the physiological function of secreting milk.
  • noun The act of giving suck, or the time of suckling.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The secretion and yielding of milk by the mammary gland; giving suck.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The secretion of milk from the mammary gland of a female mammal.
  • noun The process of providing the milk to the young; breastfeeding.
  • noun The period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young; lactation period.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the production and secretion of milk by the mammary glands
  • noun the period following birth during which milk is secreted
  • noun feeding an infant by giving suck at the breast

Etymologies

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Examples

  • As he took mental notes on the relevant biology and process, a curious Flinx could not keep from mentally substituting the term lactation for secretion, even though nothing about the practice had anything to do with milk.

    Running from the Deity Foster, Alan Dean, 1946- 2005

  • As he took mental notes on the relevant biology and process, a curious Flinx could not keep from mentally substituting the term lactation for secretion, even though nothing about the practice had anything to do with milk.

    Running From The Deity Foster, Alan Dean, 1946- 2005

  • As he took mental notes on the relevant biology and process, a curious Flinx could not keep from mentally substituting the term lactation for secretion, even though nothing about the practice had anything to do with milk.

    Running From The Deity Foster, Alan Dean, 1946- 2005

  • According to Newman, lactation is listed as a possible side effect of the heart medication digoxin.

    Strange but True: Males Can Lactate | Impact Lab 2007

  • Male lactation is most commonly caused by hormonal treatments given to men suffering from prostate cancer.

    Fact: Men Can Breastfeed 2007

  • Male lactation is most commonly caused by hormonal treatments given to men suffering from prostate cancer.

    Archive 2007-08-01 2007

  • The process of making breast milk is called lactation.

    The Simple Guide to Having a Baby Janet Whalley 2005

  • The process of making breast milk is called lactation.

    The Simple Guide to Having a Baby Janet Whalley 2005

  • The process of making breast milk is called lactation.

    The Simple Guide to Having a Baby Janet Whalley 2005

  • That was followed by a couple dozen entries that fell for the testes gambit, and only one curiosity seeker who chose "lactation" - guess everyone knew about the fruit bats.

    Jezebel 2009

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