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

For example, one partner talked about wanting their family to embrace plant-based eating over dairy. —Dave Knox, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024

Climate & Environment All raw milk from Fresno dairy farm will be cleared from store shelves; cows have bird flu Dec. 4, 2024 Police responded around 5:38 p.m. —Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2024

Here’s a protein comparison per 100 grams: most vegan alternatives only contain 2 percent protein, while semi-hard cheeses made from dairy contain 18 percent. —Desireé Oostland, Vogue, 9 Dec. 2024

Eggnog Eggnog is a hard sell because most people have only had the bad kind, those boring and occasionally gross cartons that line the dairy section of the supermarket every December. —Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 9 Dec. 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