dairy

noun

ˈder-ē 

plural dairies

often attributive

1

: a room, building, or establishment where milk is kept and butter or cheese is made

2

a

: the department of farming or of a farm that is concerned with the production of milk, butter, and cheese

b

: a farm devoted to such production

3

: an establishment for the sale or distribution chiefly of milk and milk products

4

: milk from a cow or other domestic animal (such as a goat)

also : food (such as ice cream, cheese, or yogurt) made primarily of or from milk

dairy adjective

dairy products

Examples of dairy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Also avoid unpasteurized dairy and juices, as they may be tainted. —Mustafa Fattah, NBC News, 24 Oct. 2024

Labor advocates worry about whether enough resources are provided to protect dairy workers. —Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY, 24 Oct. 2024

Typically, dairy producers have preferred to use milk for cheese, which is more profitable than butter, but if the shortage grows more desperate, those dairy farmers may opt to change their priorities. —Sharon Greenthal, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Oct. 2024

However, in the last century, 95% of those wetlands have been drained to make room for development and intensive agriculture (including the more than 1,000 dairy farms of the San Joaquin Valley, where bird flu is currently running rampant). —Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English deierie, dayerye, borrowed from Anglo-French deyerie, daerie, from Middle English deie, daie "woman in charge of milking and making butter and cheese" (going back to Old English dǣge "female baker, female servant," going back to Germanic *daigjōn—whence also Old Norse deigja "female servant"— derivative of *daiga- dough) + Anglo-French -erie -ery (after botelerie "wine cellar," paneterie "bread shop, pantry")

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing dairy

• dairy cattle

Kids Definition

dairy

noun

ˈde(ə)r-ē 

da(ə)r-

plural dairies

1

: a place where milk is kept and butter or cheese is made

2

: a farm devoted to the production of milk

3

: a company that sells milk and milk products

4

: milk from a cow or other domestic animal (as a goat)

also : food (as ice cream, cheese, or yogurt) made primarily of or from milk