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

The cash payments have also led to higher birth weights and longer breastfeeding periods for babies, the Bridge Project says, both of which signal healthier starts to a child's life. —Jordan Smith, IndyStar, 5 Nov. 2025

However, access to HIV medication was explicitly limited to only pregnant and breastfeeding women. —Robin Lin Miller, The Conversation, 5 Nov. 2025

For women with children up to age 5, WIC provides health education, breastfeeding support and food assistance at amounts lower than SNAP. —Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 31 Oct. 2025

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, 30 Oct. 2025

Around 65,000 Arkansans participate in WIC, which offers food benefits, breastfeeding help and other health resources to low-income families. —Arkansas Online, 29 Oct. 2025

Doctors recommend that people who are pregnant or breastfeeding skip fillers, as well as those who are allergic to specific ingredients for in fillers. —Kara Nesvig, Allure, 27 Oct. 2025

Additionally, about 58,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women in Gaza are suffering from acute malnutrition, according to estimates from the World Food Programme (WFP). —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2025

There are ways to conduct drug studies ethically in pregnant or breastfeeding people. —Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 23 Oct. 2025

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