dairy

noun, often attributive \ ˈder-ē \

Updated on: 9 Dec 2017

Definition of dairy

plural dairies

1 : a room, building, or establishment where milk is kept and butter or cheese is made

2 a : the department of farming or of a farm that is concerned with the production of milk, butter, and cheese

b : a farm devoted to such production

3 : an establishment for the sale or distribution chiefly of milk and milk products

4 : milk from a cow or other domestic animal (such as a goat); also : food (such as ice cream, cheese, or yogurt) made primarily of or from milk

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dairy

adjective

- dairy products

See dairy defined for English-language learners

See dairy defined for kids

Recent Examples of dairy from the Web

Gwyneth Paltrow has sensitivities to gluten, dairy, and chicken eggs, but quail eggs are fine.

— alex kuczynski, Town & Country, "The Diet of the Future Will Be Designed Just For You," 28 Apr. 2016
Many call for almond milk, but any kind of unflavored milk (regular dairy milk, soy milk, oat milk, rice milk, etc.) will work.

— christine byrne, SELF, "12 High-Protein Oatmeal Recipes to Get You Through Any Morning," 26 Oct. 2017
Double the price and the coffee drinks can become full cocktails; a dairy-free chai concoction becomes Space Girl with the addition of some Wild Turkey Rye.

— sarah bennett, Daily Pilot, "Thunderking Coffee Bar makes your mixologist joe more cozy with cold brew, cocktails and breakfast," 19 Oct. 2017
Idaho is the nation's largest rainbow trout producer and the fourth biggest dairy state.

— laine welch, Alaska Dispatch News, "Chum salmon returned this year to set catch records statewide," 3 Oct. 2017
Halo Top announced a new line of vegan and non-dairy flavors of its ice cream that has taken the dessert world by storm.

— mahita gajanan, Time, "Halo Top Is Now Offering Non-Dairy and Vegan Ice Cream in 7 Flavors," 28 Sep. 2017
The buildings were designed and built, by Architect Solon Beman, as a model dairy farm for Grace Durand, a successful businesswoman.

— Lake County News-Sun, "Calendar," 18 Sep. 2017
Put your prejudices aside and get ready to try the dairy-free, vegan ice cream that just might be your new favorite at Frankie & Jo’s.

— bethany jean clement, seattletimes.com, "Bethany Jean Clement is The Seattle Times’ food writer.," 7 Sep. 2017
However, that does not exonerate meat and dairy products.

— bryant stamford, The Courier-Journal, "'What the Health' movie points out why we're such a fat and sick nation," 31 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dairy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of dairy

Middle English deierie, dayerye, borrowed from Anglo-French deyerie, daerie, from Middle English deie, daie "woman in charge of milking and making butter and cheese" (going back to Old English dǣge "female baker, female servant," going back to Germanic *daigjōn—whence also Old Norse deigja "female servant"— derivative of *daiga- dough) + Anglo-French -erie -ery (after botelerie "wine cellar," paneterie "bread shop, pantry")

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

apiary, bantam, calico, girth, hogwash, mast, rut

DAIRY Defined for English Language Learners

dairy

noun

Definition of dairy for English Language Learners

: a farm that produces milk
: a place where milk is kept and butter or cheese is made
: a company that sells milk and foods made from milk (such as butter and cheese)