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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The early ceasefires forged with some of the biggest Colombian rebel factions have largely broken down — and even when those ceasefires were in place, the criminal organizations exploited the pause in hostilities to go after each other in the hope of capturing more territory and resources.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
2 June 2026
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The vitality of her language, its frolicsome dance with personification, communicates its own resistance in the face of an indifferent world, exploited by imperialist greed and barbaric, militant might.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
Vulture,
2 June 2026
Verb
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The Washington Nationals used Richard Lovelady, who blew Monday’s series opener, as an opener, followed by veteran Miles Mikolas for a bulk appearance, their most promising combination given their roster construction and arms available.—
Danielle Allentuck,
Washington Post,
3 June 2026
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Beyond the glass wall is a long wooden deck with a small dining table and a full-sized day bed (which can also be used for sleeping at night).—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 June 2026
Verb
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The fake news, like CNN, like The New York Times, and like others, have abused our people, have abused our people so badly.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
3 June 2026
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At least 10 women have alleged that Epstein groomed or abused them at the 10,000-acre ranch starting in the mid-1990s, an NBC News review of court testimony, lawsuits and other records found.—
Jon Schuppe,
NBC news,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Ever a performer since his youth as a circus artist, Biss, also a former mathematician, has leveraged the media attention around the address before.—
Shun Graves,
Chicago Tribune,
1 June 2026
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These roles taught me that the future of luxury will be defined by how intelligently AI is leveraged to make personalized service even more exceptional.—
Guy Yehiav,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Verb
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But Cepeda and Petro on Sunday night sowed doubt in the result and claimed — so far without evidence — that hundreds of thousands of votes were manipulated and that foreign actors interfered with the result.—
Megan Janetsky,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
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This person set him up and was manipulated in many ways.—
Laura Sirikul,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Milked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/milked. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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