Standard Lemma guide

suckle

noun · verb · 7 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈsʌk.əl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ʌkəl
  • CMU ARPABET: S AH1 K AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A teat.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An act of suckling

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The baby was having a suckle at its mother's breast.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To give suck to; to nurse at the breast, udder, or dugs.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To nurse; to suck milk from a nursing mother.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To nurse from (a breast, nursing mother, etc.).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

give suck to

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The wetnurse suckled the infant
  • You cannot nurse your baby in public in some places

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: breastfeed, suck, nurse, wet-nurse, lactate, give suck

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: feed, give

7

verb

Meaning 7

suck milk from the mother's breasts

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the infant was suckling happily

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: feed, eat

History

Etymology

From Middle English sukelen; probably a back-formation of Middle English sukeling (“a suckling; infant”), formally equivalent to suck + -le (frequentative suffix). See suckling.

Across languages

Translations

86 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: رَضَّعَ (raḍḍaʕa) — to give suck to
  • Arabic: رضع (raḍaʕ) — to give suck to
  • Aromanian: alãptedz — to give suck to
  • Bulgarian: кърмя (kǎrmja) — to give suck to
  • Catalan: alletar — to give suck to
  • Chinese Mandarin: 餵奶 /喂奶 (wèinǎi) — to give suck to
  • Chinese Mandarin: 哺乳 (bǔrǔ) — to give suck to
  • Chinese Mandarin: 母乳餵養 /母乳喂养 (mǔrǔ wèiyǎng) — to give suck to
  • Czech: kojit — to give suck to
  • Dutch: zogen — to give suck to
  • Esperanto: mamnutri — to give suck to
  • Finnish: imettää — to give suck to
  • French: allaiter — to give suck to
  • Friulian: latâ — to give suck to
  • German: stillen — to give suck to
  • German: säugen — to give suck to
  • Gothic: 𐌳𐌰𐌳𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (daddjan) — to give suck to
  • Greek: θηλάζω (thilázo) — to give suck to
  • Ancient Greek: θηλάζω (thēlázō) — to give suck to
  • Hebrew: הֵינִיק (hēníq) — to give suck to
  • Hungarian: szoptat — to give suck to
  • Ido: alaktar — to give suck to
  • Ido: mamsugar — to give suck to
  • Indonesian: menyusui — to give suck to
  • Irish: tál — to give suck to
  • Italian: allattare — to give suck to
  • Japanese: 授乳する (junyū suru) — to give suck to
  • Khmer: បំបៅ (bɑmbaw) — to give suck to
  • Ladino: alechar — to give suck to
  • Latin: nūtriō — to give suck to
  • Latvian: zīdīt — to give suck to
  • Macedonian: дои (doi) — to give suck to
  • Māori: whakangotengote — to give suck to
  • Māori: whakangote — to give suck to
  • Occitan: alachar — to give suck to
  • Occitan: alaitar — to give suck to
  • Occitan: far popar — to give suck to
  • Occitan: atessar — to give suck to
  • Old Church Slavonic: доити (doiti) — to give suck to
  • Polish: karmić mlekiem — to give suck to
  • Polish: wykarmić — to give suck to
  • Portuguese: amamentar — to give suck to
  • Romani: chuchi del — to give suck to
  • Romanian: alăpta — to give suck to
  • Russian: корми́ть гру́дью (kormítʹ grúdʹju) — to give suck to
  • Russian: вска́рмливать (vskármlivatʹ) — to give suck to
  • Serbo-Croatian: до̀јити — to give suck to
  • Serbo-Croatian: dòjiti — to give suck to
  • Spanish: amamantar — to give suck to
  • Swedish: amma — to give suck to
  • Swedish: dia — to give suck to
  • Swedish: dägga — to give suck to
  • Turkish: emzirmek — to give suck to
  • Turkish: meme vermek — to give suck to
  • Vietnamese: mút — to give suck to
  • Vietnamese: bú — to give suck to
  • Volapük: sügön — to give suck to
  • Volapük: nimafön — to give suck to
  • Yiddish: זייגן (zeygn) — to give suck to
  • Arabic: رَضِعَ (raḍiʕa) — to nurse; to suck
  • Bulgarian: бозая (bozaja) — to nurse; to suck
  • Dutch: zuigen — to nurse; to suck
  • Finnish: imeä — to nurse; to suck
  • French: téter — to nurse; to suck
  • German: saugen — to nurse; to suck
  • Greek: θηλάζω (thilázo) — to nurse; to suck
  • Greek: βυζαίνω (vyzaíno) — to nurse; to suck
  • Ancient Greek: θηλάζω (thēlázō) — to nurse; to suck
  • Hebrew: יָנַק (yanáq) — to nurse; to suck
  • Indonesian: menyusu — to nurse; to suck
  • Irish: diúl — to nurse; to suck
  • Old Irish: ibid — to nurse; to suck
  • Italian: poppare — to nurse; to suck
  • Latin: nūtriō — to nurse; to suck
  • Latvian: zīst — to nurse; to suck
  • Macedonian: дои (doi) — to nurse; to suck
  • Māori: whāngote — to nurse; to suck
  • Occitan: mamar — to nurse; to suck
  • Occitan: popar — to nurse; to suck
  • Portuguese: mamar — to nurse; to suck
  • Romanian: suge — to nurse; to suck
  • Russian: соса́ть грудь (sosátʹ grudʹ) — to nurse; to suck
  • Spanish: mamar — to nurse; to suck
  • Swedish: dia — to nurse; to suck
  • Unami: nune — to nurse; to suck
  • Volapük: sugön — to nurse; to suck