as in exploited
to take unfair advantage of
unscrupulous people trying to milk the welfare system for all it's worth
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Recent Examples of milked
As part of the annual rookie luncheon, the American Dairy Association — which also supplies the traditional winner’s bottle of milk for post-race celebration consumption — brings a cow to be milked by the debutants.
—
Luke Smith, New York Times, 22 May 2026
But elsewhere, the film’s sporadic, accidental humor comes to its rescue — a scene involving a cow that clearly doesn’t want to be milked especially comes to mind.
—Tomris Laffly, Variety, 20 May 2026
Growing up on a farm in Wabasha, Minnesota, one of 18 children, Bea milked cows and attended a one-room schoolhouse during the great depression.
—Irene Gonzalez, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
Netflix has milked so much out of that now-instantly recognizable sound.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025
Monster has, itself, been the target of criticism from people like the Menendezes and the families of Dahmer’s victims, who feel their traumas have been milked for sensation rather than sublimated into high art.
—Judy Berman, Time, 6 Oct. 2025
That’s when cows need to be milked next; if no one’s there, a cow could start to leak milk, to develop an infection.
—Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2025
Host Jimmy Kimmel milked the moment, delaying confirming that their answer was correct for a very tense minute.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2025
Games don’t feel milked, overanalyzed, or — as can often be the case with Generation Kickstarter — overtly romanticized.
—Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Luke Smith, New York Times, 22 May 2026
But elsewhere, the film’s sporadic, accidental humor comes to its rescue — a scene involving a cow that clearly doesn’t want to be milked especially comes to mind.
—Tomris Laffly, Variety, 20 May 2026
Growing up on a farm in Wabasha, Minnesota, one of 18 children, Bea milked cows and attended a one-room schoolhouse during the great depression.
—Irene Gonzalez, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026
Netflix has milked so much out of that now-instantly recognizable sound.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025
Monster has, itself, been the target of criticism from people like the Menendezes and the families of Dahmer’s victims, who feel their traumas have been milked for sensation rather than sublimated into high art.
—Judy Berman, Time, 6 Oct. 2025
That’s when cows need to be milked next; if no one’s there, a cow could start to leak milk, to develop an infection.
—Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2025
Host Jimmy Kimmel milked the moment, delaying confirming that their answer was correct for a very tense minute.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2025
Games don’t feel milked, overanalyzed, or — as can often be the case with Generation Kickstarter — overtly romanticized.
—Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for milked
Verb
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Not to mention that the previous tournament in 2022 was hosted by Qatar, where migrant workers were exploited during stadium construction.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2026
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Time and again, mathematicians have uncovered features in fluids that have this astonishing symmetry and exploited it to make the math manageable.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
11 June 2026
Verb
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Authorities used night-vision equipment and conducted continuous overnight searches.—
Sofia Saric
June 16,
Miami Herald,
17 June 2026
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During the Spain vs Cape Verde game on Monday, ITV showed how the breaks can be used in a different way.—
Tom Burrows,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
Verb
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None of those mothers were found to have abused or neglected their children.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
10 June 2026
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Moreover, the states often abused their authority, both over their own citizens and with regard to each other.—
Jordan Cash,
The Conversation,
8 June 2026
Verb
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While figures like Hill, Bomani Jones, and Elle Duncan have leveraged their race to advance their careers, media companies have aggressively cut ties with white employees since 2020.—
Bobby Burack OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 June 2026
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Brunson, the crafty undersized guard, leveraged that pressure by drawing two shooting fouls in as many possessions on three-point attempts.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
14 June 2026
Verb
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He’s been manipulated to believe that this is what’s necessary by his sister.—
Ronda Racha Penrice,
HollywoodReporter,
15 June 2026
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The people drawing the lines manipulated the system for partisan advantage.—
Steve Bousquet,
Sun Sentinel,
13 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Milked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/milked. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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