breastfeed

verb

breast·​feed ˈbrest-ˌfēd 

variants or breast-feed

breastfed or breast-fed; breastfeeding or breast-feeding; breastfeeds or breast-feeds

transitive verb

: to feed (a baby) from a mother's breast

intransitive verb

1

: to breastfeed a baby

… more women are breastfeeding than ever before …

—Lauren Sandler

2

of a baby : to feed oneself by sucking milk from a mother's breast

breastfed adjective

or breast-fed

breastfed babies

breastfeeder noun

or breast-feeder

breastfeeding noun

or breast-feeding

Synonyms

• nurse
• suckle

Examples of breastfeed in a Sentence

believes that all women should breast-feed their babies

Recent Examples on the Web

The chef and cookbook author discusses breastfeeding in public and feeding her 14-month-old spicy food. —Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 3 Sep. 2025

Many experts, however, recommend more for athletes, older adults and pregnant or breastfeeding women. —Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 30 Aug. 2025

But after spending days in a hotel without electricity and with grocery stores running out of food, Gibson – who was breastfeeding – decided to drive to Texas, praying their fuel would last. —Dian Zhang, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025

After having a child and breastfeeding for over a year, as well as a dramatic weight loss (50+ pounds), my once-perky 36C breasts have undergone substantial volume loss. —Dory Zayas, Allure, 29 Aug. 2025

Hearing of breastfeeding journeys from Black men in all forms of media can do wonders in normalizing breastfeeding within the Black community. —Essence, 29 Aug. 2025

Worker protection policies could include things like paid pumping breaks for breastfeeding workers, mandates for equal pay, paid family and medical leave and paid sick leave. —Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025

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

The left breast hangs lower than the right, and her brown nipples, enlarged to the size of wine stoppers from breastfeeding long ago, also point down. —Weike Wang, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1869, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

breast-feed

verb

ˈbrest-ˌfēd

breast-fed

-ˌfed

; breast-feeding

: to feed a baby from a mother's breast

Medical Definition

breastfeed

verb

breast·​feed

variants or breast-feed

ˈbrest-ˌfēd

breastfed or breast-fed; breastfeeding or breast-feeding; breastfeeds or breast-feeds

transitive verb

: to feed (a baby) from a mother's breast

intransitive verb

1

: to breastfeed a baby

2

of a baby : to feed oneself by sucking milk from a mother's breast

breastfed adjective

or breast-fed

breastfed babies

breastfeeder noun

or breast-feeder

This class for first-time breastfeeders will be from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

—The Reno (Nevada) Gazette-Journal

On average, infants who were exclusive breast-feeders continued to drink more as they got older …

—The Philadelphia Inquirer

breastfeeding noun

or breast-feeding