Definition

1. Adjective:
   • (Of an infant) fed milk from the mother's breast: Describes a baby who receives nourishment directly from its mother's milk, as opposed to from a bottle or formula.

Usage

• The term "breast-fed" is used attributively (before a noun) or predicatively (after a linking verb) to describe the feeding method of a baby.
• It is the past tense and past participle form of the verb "to breast-feed," but it functions as an adjective when describing the infant.

Examples

• Adjective:
  • The study compared the immune systems of breast-fed infants and formula-fed infants.
  • All of her children were breast-fed for the first six months.
  • A breast-fed baby may need to feed more frequently.

Advanced Usage

• "exclusively breast-fed": Fed only mother's milk, with no other liquids or foods.
  • The World Health Organization recommends that infants be exclusively breast-fed for the first six months.
• The hyphen is typically used in the adjective form ("breast-fed") but may be omitted in some modern styles ("breastfed").

Variants and Related Words

• Breast-feed (verb): To feed (a baby) with milk from the breast.
  • She chose to breast-feed her newborn.
• Breastfeeding (noun or gerund): The act or practice of feeding a baby from the breast.
  • She is an advocate for breastfeeding.
• Formula-fed (adjective): Fed with manufactured infant formula from a bottle.

Synonyms

• Nursed: (Less common in this specific context) Fed at the breast.
• Suckled: (More literary) Fed from the breast.

Antonyms

• Bottle-fed: Fed with milk or formula from a bottle.
• Formula-fed: Fed with manufactured infant formula.

Adjective

1. (of an infant) fed milk from the mother's breast