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
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
For a while, the Klussendorfs milked their cows on a neighboring farm that had been empty for years.
—Rick Barrett, jsonline.com, 11 Aug. 2025
But strangely, when the researchers milked the well cows with contaminated equipment—the way the virus was assumed to be spreading on farms—the healthy cows did not fall ill.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 5 Aug. 2025
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
For a while, the Klussendorfs milked their cows on a neighboring farm that had been empty for years.
—Rick Barrett, jsonline.com, 11 Aug. 2025
But strangely, when the researchers milked the well cows with contaminated equipment—the way the virus was assumed to be spreading on farms—the healthy cows did not fall ill.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for milked
Verb
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These types of vulnerabilities can be exploited through normal user behavior, such as browsing to a web page.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
7 May 2026
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Already at this early stage, the producer must think about all the markets in which the film, its brand, and its characters can be exploited and not just about the theaters where it will be screened.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
5 May 2026
Verb
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Depending on the time of year, highlights include the new rhododendron gardens, the all-glass Palm House, the new Butterfly House, and the Nordic Beer Garden, highlighting plants used by Nordic brewers.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 May 2026
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For the project, the ORNL researchers used two specialized instruments to study how these molten salts behave under reactor-like conditions.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
12 May 2026
Verb
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Vinicius Jr had alleged that Prestianni had racially abused him, which Prestianni denied on social media.—
Dan Sheldon,
New York Times,
6 May 2026
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During opening statements in her trial on Tuesday, May 5, prosecutors said Lauren Maloberti abused and neglected the boy and failed to seek prompt medical treatment as his condition deteriorated, according to TribLive and WTAE.—
Staff Author,
PEOPLE,
6 May 2026
Verb
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Like rideshare apps and taxis, delivery apps leveraged Venture Capital to create a marginally more convenient service where one already existed.—
Shannon Keating,
Time,
8 May 2026
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Here's a fascinating story about a hockey dad who built a business that bought up rinks and teams across the Northeast and Midwest and then allegedly leveraged that control to steer families into its own costly ecosystem of leagues, tournaments and fees.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
Verb
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Defense attorneys argued at trial that the investigation into the assassination was a mess and that the four were manipulated into taking blame for an internal coup.—
David Fischer,
Sun Sentinel,
8 May 2026
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These were teenagers, and they were manipulated.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Milked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/milked. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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