as in to nurse
to give milk to from the breast
the image of a mother suckling her babe is a standard artistic symbol of maternal love and nurturing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of suckle
The older pair are named Romulus and Remus after the mythological founders of Rome, who are traditionally depicted as being suckled by a she-wolf.
—
Jon Schlosberg, ABC News, 7 Apr. 2025
Avoiding them is all but impossible in a world where water supplies are tainted and babies suckle on plastic bottles from their earliest days on earth.
—Jamie Ducharme, TIME, 13 Feb. 2025
Joan jumped on her leg in an attempt to get some and started to suckle the cheese.
—Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024
After the birth, the infant was showing strong signs of suckling, and zoo staff thought that Kianga was providing excellent care, the release states.
—Grant Lancaster, arkansasonline.com, 7 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for suckle
Jon Schlosberg, ABC News, 7 Apr. 2025
Avoiding them is all but impossible in a world where water supplies are tainted and babies suckle on plastic bottles from their earliest days on earth.
—Jamie Ducharme, TIME, 13 Feb. 2025
Joan jumped on her leg in an attempt to get some and started to suckle the cheese.
—Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024
After the birth, the infant was showing strong signs of suckling, and zoo staff thought that Kianga was providing excellent care, the release states.
—Grant Lancaster, arkansasonline.com, 7 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for suckle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suckle
Verb
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But Waller has been nursing a hip injury since joining the team, and didn’t participate in a single training camp practice.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
4 Sep. 2025
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In the accompanying image, Baz is lying on her side, nursing her son in a low cut bra while holding a bottle in her free hand.—
Elisabeth Sherman,
Parents,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Part of that frustration and anxiety in breastfeeding can be attributed to all the different changes that a mom's body goes through, both during pregnancy and postpartum.—
Hannah Sacks,
People.com,
26 Aug. 2025
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Pregnant and breastfeeding people should also be cautious since there isn’t enough data on how cloves or clove oil may affect them.—
Caitlin Pagán,
Verywell Health,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Suckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suckle. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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