lamb

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noun \ ˈlam \

Definition of lamb

1 a :a young sheep; especially :one that is less than one year old or without permanent teeth

b :the young of various animals (such as the smaller antelopes) other than sheep

2 a :a gentle or weak person

b :dear, pet

c :a person easily cheated or deceived especially in trading securities

3 a :the flesh of a lamb used as food

b :lambskin

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lamblike

play \ˈlam-ˌlīk\ adjective

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lamby

play \ˈla-mē\ adjective

See lamb defined for English-language learners

See lamb defined for kids

Examples of lamb in a Sentence

She's as gentle as a lamb.
the new guys at football camp were lambs who hardly knew what awaited them

Recent Examples of lamb from the Web

So are the lamb chops, brushed with curry oil and grilled, with yogurt sauce and a fantastic molded cone of apple-mint jelly.

— pete wells, New York Times, "The Grill Is Confident, Theatrical, Sharp and New Yorky," 22 Aug. 2017
China imported more lamb from New Zealand than anywhere else, the most wheat from Australia, and the largest amount of fruit and nuts from Chile.

— Bloomberg.com, "With Some Countries, China Is in the Red," 20 Aug. 2017
That's right, put out a sacrificial lamb for people who really don't care and won't stop anyway.#DontFireBannon -- tommyzax (@tommyzax) August 13, 2017 Others very much blame Bannon.

— the tylt, AL.com, "Should President Trump fire Steve Bannon?," 17 Aug. 2017
That's the one with a live lamb, and an actor peeing onstage.

— christopher arnott, courant.com, "Rest In Peace, Sam Shepard; Wesleyan Announces 2017-18 Season," 2 Aug. 2017
There are beef and pork and chicken and lamb and bison and the list goes on.

— david sharos, Naperville Sun, "Chef's Choice: Korean chef likes healthy food options, says no to hot dogs," 27 July 2017
Don’t worry, there’s meat, too, like the succulent lamb chops.

— kathleen purvis, charlotteobserver, "13 must-eat places for your Charleston trip, plus more to check out," 19 July 2017
As a crowning touch, the website displays an image of a fluffy lamb’s wool wig, whose resemblance to a resting sheep and to the asymmetrical Old Fort Point hill pictured next to it can be seen—with some effort, anyway.

— marnie mcinnes, The Atlantic, "Why Geologists Think Glacial Mountains Look Like Sheep," 7 July 2017
The 68th annual livestock auction sold 121 hogs, 74 lambs, 53 goats and 46 cattle.

— phil diehl, sandiegouniontribune.com, "That's a lot of funnel cakes — San Diego County Fair just misses new attendance record," 5 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lamb.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of lamb

Origin and Etymology of lamb

Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German lamb lamb

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

lamb Synonyms

Synonyms

angel, dove, innocent, sheep

Antonyms

wolf

Related Words

babe, colt, cub, fledgling, greenhorn, ingenue (or ingénue), naïf (or naif), newbie, tenderfoot, virgin; cherub, saint; mollycoddle, sissy, softy (or softie), weakling, wimp; dupe, pigeon, sap, sucker

Near Antonyms

bully, roughneck, rowdy, tough; beast, boor, cad, churl, clown, creep, cretin, cur, heel, jerk, joker, louse, lout, slob; shark, skunk, snake, stinker; devil, knave, miscreant, no-good, rapscallion, rascal, reprobate, rogue, scalawag (or scallywag), scamp, scoundrel, varlet, villain

lamb

verb

Definition of lamb

intransitive verb

:to bring forth a lamb

transitive verb

1 :to bring forth (a lamb)

2 :to tend (ewes) at lambing time

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lamber

play \ˈla-mər\ noun

See lamb defined for English-language learners

Examples of lamb in a Sentence

The ewes will lamb soon.

Recent Examples of lamb from the Web

Coyotes can do a lot of damage, especially during the fall during lambing season.

— gabriel thompson, Longreads, "Chasing the Harvest: ‘If You Want to Die, Stay at the Ranch’," 17 May 2017
Just across the North Carolina border in Virginia, Craig Rogers is deep into lambing season.

— kim severson, New York Times, "Ham or Lamb? The Easter Choice May Be Changing," 11 Apr. 2017

First Known Use of lamb

1611

Lamb

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biographical name \ ˈlam \

Definition of Lamb

Charles 1775–1834 pseudonym Elia \ˈe-lē-ə, commonly ˈē-\ English essayist and critic

Lamb

biographical name

Definition of Lamb

William 1779–1848 2nd Viscount Melbourne English statesman

Lamb

biographical name

Definition of Lamb

Willis Eugene 1913–2008 American physicist

LAMB Defined for English Language Learners

lamb

play

noun

Definition of lamb for English Language Learners

: a young sheep
: the meat of a lamb
: an innocent, weak, or gentle person

lamb

verb

Definition of lamb for English Language Learners

of a sheep : to give birth to a lamb

LAMB Defined for Kids

lamb

play

noun \ ˈlam \

Definition of lamb for Students

1 :a young sheep usually less than one year old

2 :the meat of a lamb used as food

lamb

verb

Definition of lamb for Students

lambed; lambing

:to give birth to a lamb The ewes will lamb next month.

Learn More about lamb

See words that rhyme with lamb Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for lamb Spanish Central: Translation of lamb Nglish: Translation of lamb for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of lamb for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about lamb

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lamb

Definition of lamb

lamblike

lamby

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Origin and Etymology of lamb

lamb Synonyms

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Antonyms

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lamb

Definition of lamb

lamber

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Lamb

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Lamb

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Lamb

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LAMB Defined for English Language Learners

lamb

Definition of lamb for English Language Learners

lamb

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LAMB Defined for Kids

lamb

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lamb

Definition of lamb for Students

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