as in to nurse
to give milk to from the breast the image of a mother suckling her babe is a standard artistic symbol of maternal love and nurturing

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of suckle Joan jumped on her leg in an attempt to get some and started to suckle the cheese. Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024 After the birth, the infant was showing strong signs of suckling, and zoo staff thought that Kianga was providing excellent care, the release states. Grant Lancaster, arkansasonline.com, 7 Sep. 2024 But the government men botched their job: rather than dying, the twins were soon discovered by a she-wolf, who suckled them back to health. Michael Fontaine, Foreign Affairs, 15 Feb. 2016 The insects will have enough time to get used to their new home and then hopefully mate and burrow down to suckle at the roots of hazel trees. Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 31 May 2024 See All Example Sentences for suckle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suckle
Verb
  • Today’s retirement stewards nurse a Rube Goldberg contraption of laws, one-off integrations and workarounds.
    Miguel Kudry, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
  • After starting Saturday sharing the lead, Ben Griffin and Matthias Schmid continued their control of the leaderboard at the Charles Schwab Challenge with the pair nursing a 4-stroke lead headed into Sunday’s final round.
    Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 May 2025
Verb
  • Infants usually stay with their mother more at the beginning just because of things like breastfeeding, but your child’s time with her father will eventually increase.
    Jann Blackstone, Chicago Tribune, 10 June 2025
  • As seen in photos that quickly went viral, runner — and new mom — Stephanie Case sat down at three points along the demanding race course to breastfeed her six-month-old daughter.
    Bill Chappell, NPR, 30 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Suckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suckle. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.

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