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 rules include broad exemptions for a wide variety of single-use plastics — including any product that the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture have jurisdiction over, such as packaging related to produce, meat, dairy products and other consumer goods. —Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025

Certain foods, swallowed air, or sensitivity to specific ingredients, such as lactose in dairy products, can also cause increased stomach sounds unrelated to hunger.4 Is there a way to make stomach growling less noticeable? —Lindsay Curtis, Health, 21 May 2025

Shavuot customs include all-night Torah study, listening to the recitation of the Ten Commandments, the reading of the Book of Ruth, eating dairy products and adorning the home with flowers. —Rabbi Moishe Kievman, Sun Sentinel, 20 May 2025

Animal sources of vitamin A, including dairy, egg yolks, and liver, tend to be easier for our bodies to use than plant sources, such as spinach, papaya, and carrots. —Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 May 2025

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