as in to nurse
to give milk to from the breast
the image of a mother suckling her babe is a standard artistic symbol of maternal love and nurturing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of suckle
What are the neurons that make muscles ache and fatigue, or trigger migraines, or cause milk to flow in a mother’s breast when her baby suckles?
—
Ariel Bleicher, Quanta Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025
The older pair are named Romulus and Remus after the mythological founders of Rome, who are traditionally depicted as being suckled by a she-wolf.
—Jon Schlosberg, ABC News, 7 Apr. 2025
Avoiding them is all but impossible in a world where water supplies are tainted and babies suckle on plastic bottles from their earliest days on earth.
—Jamie Ducharme, TIME, 13 Feb. 2025
Joan jumped on her leg in an attempt to get some and started to suckle the cheese.
—Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for suckle
Ariel Bleicher, Quanta Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025
The older pair are named Romulus and Remus after the mythological founders of Rome, who are traditionally depicted as being suckled by a she-wolf.
—Jon Schlosberg, ABC News, 7 Apr. 2025
Avoiding them is all but impossible in a world where water supplies are tainted and babies suckle on plastic bottles from their earliest days on earth.
—Jamie Ducharme, TIME, 13 Feb. 2025
Joan jumped on her leg in an attempt to get some and started to suckle the cheese.
—Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for suckle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suckle
Verb
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The rookie quarterback continues to nurse a back injury.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
6 Nov. 2025
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One recalled that the mom of an Ole Miss first-year stayed in the family’s new campus-adjacent apartment last fall to provide logistical and moral support during sorority rush, lending her daughter a hand in fixing hair or nursing a hangover.—
Russell Shaw,
The Atlantic,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Young children and pregnant or breastfeeding persons should limit their intake of fish and shellfish.—
Lana Barhum,
Verywell Health,
2 Nov. 2025
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Hamida discovers the newborn still attached to her corpse by umbilical cord and saves him, breastfeeding and caring for the infant as her own.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Suckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suckle. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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