dairy

noun

ˈder-ē 

plural dairies

often attributive

1

: a room, building, or establishment where milk is kept and butter or cheese is made

2

a

: the department of farming or of a farm that is concerned with the production of milk, butter, and cheese

b

: a farm devoted to such production

3

: an establishment for the sale or distribution chiefly of milk and milk products

4

: milk from a cow or other domestic animal (such as a goat)

also : food (such as ice cream, cheese, or yogurt) made primarily of or from milk

dairy adjective

dairy products

Examples of dairy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The tension is rising about whether raw milk is safe, who should be especially careful and what consumers should know when choosing dairy products. —Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 1 Apr. 2026

The new lawsuit claims that Prairie Farms wanted to settle the earlier case for an amount acceptable to the family, but Travelers refused to pay, forcing both the family and dairy company to go to trial. —Madeline King, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026

Lakshmi also said that Indians who are vegetarians, as Usha Vance is, eat more than bread, vegetables and dairy, such as beans, rice, lentils and squash. —Mariyam Muhammad, Cincinnati Enquirer, 1 Apr. 2026

The custard chain was founded in Ohio in 2003 by Chuck Whitman, who developed a passion for frozen custard through his decades working in the restaurant industry and at a dairy manufacturing plant. —Tanya Babbar, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English deierie, dayerye, borrowed from Anglo-French deyerie, daerie, from Middle English deie, daie "woman in charge of milking and making butter and cheese" (going back to Old English dǣge "female baker, female servant," going back to Germanic *daigjōn—whence also Old Norse deigja "female servant"— derivative of *daiga- dough) + Anglo-French -erie -ery (after botelerie "wine cellar," paneterie "bread shop, pantry")

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing dairy

• dairy cattle

Rhymes for dairy

• aerie
• airy
• arie
• barre
• cherry
• clary
• eyrie
• faerie
• faery
• fairy
• ferry
• hairy

Kids Definition

dairy

noun

ˈde(ə)r-ē 

da(ə)r-

plural dairies

1

: a place where milk is kept and butter or cheese is made

2

: a farm devoted to the production of milk

3

: a company that sells milk and milk products

4

: milk from a cow or other domestic animal (as a goat)

also : food (as ice cream, cheese, or yogurt) made primarily of or from milk