Phrase guide

dairy cow

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Any breed of cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made; an individual cattle beast of such a breed; especially, a female cow who has calved and lactated.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The Holstein Friesian is an excellent dairy cow. [breed]
  • He runs a herd of dairy cows, including his own bulls. [cattle beast]
  • Mastitis impairs a dairy cow’s output. [lactating female]

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: milch cow, milk cow

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: dairy cattle

2

noun

Meaning 2

A black-and-white varietal of the Porcellio laevis woodlouse.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

cattle that are reared for their milk

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dairy cattle, milch cow, milk cow, milcher, milker

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cattle, cows, kine, oxen, Bos taurus

Narrower terms: Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Jersey, milking shorthorn, Friesian, Holstein, Holstein-Friesian, Guernsey

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

29 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: дойна крава (dojna krava) — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Chinese Cantonese: 乳牛 (jyu5 ngau4) — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Chinese Mandarin: 奶牛 (nǎiniú) — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Chinese Mandarin: 乳牛 (rǔniú) — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Czech: dojnice — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Danish: malkeko — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Dutch: melkkoe — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Finnish: lypsylehmä — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • French: vache laitière — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • French: vache à lait — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Hunsrik: Millichkuh — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Ingrian: lypsylehmä — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Italian: mucca — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Macedonian: мле́чна кра́ва (mléčna kráva) — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Macedonian: мо́лзна кра́ва (mólzna kráva) — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Malay: lembu tenusu — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Malay: lembu perahan — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Norwegian Bokmål: melkeku — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Norwegian Bokmål: mjølkeku — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: mjølkeku — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Persian: گاو شیری (gāv-e širi) — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Polish: krowa mleczna — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Portuguese: vaca leiteira — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Russian: до́йная коро́ва (dójnaja koróva) — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Russian: моло́чная коро́ва (molóčnaja koróva) — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Spanish: vaca lechera — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Swedish: mjölkko — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Turkish: süt ineği — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk
  • Vietnamese: bò sữa — cow bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk