wean

verb

ˈwēn 

weaned; weaning; weans

transitive verb

1

: to accustom (a young child or animal) to take food otherwise than by nursing

2

: to detach from a source of dependence

being weaned off the medication

wean the bears from human food

—Sports Illus.

also : to free from a usually unwholesome habit or interest

wean him off his excessive drinking

settling his soldiers on the land …  , weaning them from habits of violence

—Geoffrey Carnall

3

: to accustom to something from an early age

—used in the passive especially with on

students weaned on the Internet for research

I was weaned on greasepaint

—Helen Hayes

the principles upon which he had been weaned

—J. A. Michener

Examples of wean in a Sentence

The calves are weaned at an early age.

Recent Examples on the Web

Taking longer to wean or adjusting your weaning timetable can sometimes be the best choice for your family.4 A Quick Review Many people find weaning from breastfeeding challenging. —Wendy Wisner, Health, 13 Apr. 2025

They were weaned at eight weeks and have been living the lives of healthy young dire wolves since then. —Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 7 Apr. 2025

The event comes on the heels of recent rumors that Microsoft is in the works to produce in-house artificial intelligence models, including reasoning models like OpenAI’s o1 which the company incorporated into its Copilot products earlier this year, in an effort to wean off its reliance on OpenAI. —Ece Yildirim, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2025

All baby teeth should be present by seven weeks old, and they are typically fully weaned by this time as well. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English wenen, from Old English wenian to accustom, wean; akin to Old English wunian to be used to — more at wont

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing wean

• wean from/off
• wean on

Rhymes for wean

• bean
• bein
• bien
• bouin
• chine
• clean
• deen
• diene
• gene
• glean
• jean
• keen

Kids Definition

wean

verb

ˈwēn 

1

: to get a child or young animal used to food other than its mother's milk

2

: to turn (one) away from something long desired or followed

wean a person from a bad habit

Medical Definition

wean

transitive verb

ˈwēn 

1

: to accustom (as an infant or young child) to take food otherwise than by nursing

2

: to detach usually gradually from a cause of dependence or form of treatment