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
What are the neurons that make muscles ache and fatigue, or trigger migraines, or cause milk to flow in a mother’s breast when her baby suckles?
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Ariel Bleicher, Quanta Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for suckle
Ariel Bleicher, Quanta Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for suckle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suckle
Verb
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Murray continues to nurse a foot injury suffered in the team's Week 5 loss to the Tennessee Titans, which has resulted in him being held out of practice for most of the week.—
Reice Shipley,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
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The 6-foot-4, 290-pound defensive lineman, who nursed a high-ankle sprain throughout August and September, returned to the lineup late in the first quarter of the Week 5 win against Miami.—
Mike Kaye
October 9,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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That program, also known as WIC, helps about 6 million Americans, mostly new mothers and their children, with food and breastfeeding assistance.—
Andre Mouchard,
Oc Register,
6 Oct. 2025
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The program, better known as WIC, provides access to healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding education and referrals for other services to low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, as well as infants and children up to age 5.—
Mary Ramsey,
Charlotte Observer,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Suckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suckle. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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