breastfeed

verb

breast·​feed ˈbrest-ˌfēd 

variants or breast-feed

breastfed or breast-fed; breastfeeding or breast-feeding; breastfeeds or breast-feeds

transitive verb

: to feed (a baby) from a mother's breast

intransitive verb

1

: to breastfeed a baby

… more women are breastfeeding than ever before …

—Lauren Sandler

2

of a baby : to feed oneself by sucking milk from a mother's breast

breastfed adjective

or breast-fed

breastfed babies

breastfeeder noun

or breast-feeder

breastfeeding noun

or breast-feeding

Synonyms of breastfeed

• nurse
• suckle

Examples of breastfeed in a Sentence

believes that all women should breast-feed their babies

Recent Examples on the Web

Note that more than 85% of breastfeeding parents stop nursing exclusively by the time their baby is 6 months old, which means that most of us end up spending hundreds of dollars on formula at some point. —Deborah Skolnik, Parents, 1 Mar. 2026

Recently, Frida created a Mardi Gras float to celebrate breastfeeding. —Julia Gomez, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026

On the New Orleans shoot, Mosaku brought her young baby and suddenly went from breastfeeding to pumping and bottle-feeding. —Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 25 Feb. 2026

Though pregnant and breastfeeding women are exempt from fasting in Islam (along with the sick, disabled, mentally ill, and those who choose not to while traveling), Hasan is attempting to fast during Ramadan this year. —Juwayriah Wright, Time, 17 Feb. 2026

One sequence sees Saga attempting to breastfeed, only to pull the child away from her chest in a spasm of toe-curling agony. —Catherine Bray, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026

The warehouse contained specialized food intended for young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women who were malnourished. —Arkansas Online, 30 Jan. 2026

In Tuesday’s report, Ossoff’s staff describe speaking with the attorney of an immigrant detainee who gave birth in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and was separated from her breastfeeding infant for several months. —Lautaro Grinspan, AJC.com, 27 Jan. 2026

Lead exposure is especially dangerous for infants, children, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and women of child-bearing age. —Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 16 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1869, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

breast-feed

verb

ˈbrest-ˌfēd

breast-fed

-ˌfed

; breast-feeding

: to feed a baby from a mother's breast

Medical Definition

breastfeed

verb

breast·​feed

variants or breast-feed

ˈbrest-ˌfēd

breastfed or breast-fed; breastfeeding or breast-feeding; breastfeeds or breast-feeds

transitive verb

: to feed (a baby) from a mother's breast

intransitive verb

1

: to breastfeed a baby

2

of a baby : to feed oneself by sucking milk from a mother's breast

breastfed adjective

or breast-fed

breastfed babies

breastfeeder noun

or breast-feeder

This class for first-time breastfeeders will be from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

—The Reno (Nevada) Gazette-Journal

On average, infants who were exclusive breast-feeders continued to drink more as they got older …

—The Philadelphia Inquirer

breastfeeding noun

or breast-feeding