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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Recent Examples of suckle
The same amphibian recently discussed in Science, for example, also allows its babies to eat some of its skin, and some baby frogs seem to suckle in a similar way from their parents.
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Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2024
We’re treated to images of the baby shooting dice on the street, lusting for breasts to suckle and ultimately engaging in a shootout with three other thuggish Black babies.
—Kyle Bowser, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Apr. 2024
The time for burying our heads in the sand is long gone due to decades of inaction by legislators suckling at the trough of Big Oil.
—Gillian Brassil, Sacramento Bee, 5 Feb. 2024
Also, kittens of all kinds that are weaned too early may develop the habit of suckling on a blanket, usually purring and kneading with their front paws at the same time, as if the blanket were their mother.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2018
See all Example Sentences for suckle 
Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2024
We’re treated to images of the baby shooting dice on the street, lusting for breasts to suckle and ultimately engaging in a shootout with three other thuggish Black babies.
—Kyle Bowser, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Apr. 2024
The time for burying our heads in the sand is long gone due to decades of inaction by legislators suckling at the trough of Big Oil.
—Gillian Brassil, Sacramento Bee, 5 Feb. 2024
Also, kittens of all kinds that are weaned too early may develop the habit of suckling on a blanket, usually purring and kneading with their front paws at the same time, as if the blanket were their mother.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2018
See all Example Sentences for suckle
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Cite this Entry
“Suckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suckle. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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