lamb

1 of 2

noun

ˈlam How to pronounce lamb (audio)
Synonyms of lambnext
1
a
: a young sheep
especially : one that is less than one year old or without permanent teeth
b
: the young of various animals (such as the smaller antelopes) other than sheep
2
a
: a gentle or weak person
b
: dear, pet
c
: a person easily cheated or deceived especially in trading securities
3
a
: the flesh of a lamb used as food
b
: lambskin
lamblike
ˈlam-ˌlīk How to pronounce lamb (audio)
adjective
lamby
ˈla-mē How to pronounce lamb (audio)
adjective

Illustration of lamb

Illustration of lamb
  • A wholesale cuts
  • 1 leg
  • 2 loin
  • 3 rack
  • 4 breast
  • 5 shank
  • 6 shoulder
  • B retail cuts
  • a leg
  • b sirloin chops and roast
  • c loin chops and rolled loin roast
  • d patties and chopped roast
  • e rib chops and crown roast
  • f riblets and stew; and stuffed or rolled breast
  • g shoulder roast and shoulder chops
  • h neck slices
  • i shanks
  • j blade chops
  • k arm chops

lamb

2 of 2

verb

lambed; lambing; lambs

intransitive verb

: to bring forth a lamb

transitive verb

1
: to bring forth (a lamb)
2
: to tend (ewes) at lambing time
lamber
ˈla-mər How to pronounce lamb (audio)
noun

Synonyms

Noun

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of lamb in a Sentence

Noun She's as gentle as a lamb. the new guys at football camp were lambs who hardly knew what awaited them Verb The ewes will lamb soon.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Noun
Signature dishes include well-spiced lamb chops, tender goat and creamy feta saganaki. —Nicole Trilivas, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025 Carnivores, meanwhile, can carve into filets, New York strips and ribeyes with optional Bearnaise sauce, black truffle butter and bleu cheese crust, along with Berkshire pork in a sherry reduction and double-bone lamb chops in roasted garlic-thyme jus. —Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun Sentinel, 29 Apr. 2025
Verb
It's been a bountiful lambing season so far with lots of healthy lambs. —Brian Mann, NPR, 20 Apr. 2025 In New Zealand, the lambing season is generally between August and October due to the different climate, according to lambing expert site Lamlac. —William Lambers, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for lamb

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German lamb lamb

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1611, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of lamb was before the 12th century

Phrases Containing lamb

Rhymes for lamb

See All Rhymes for lamb

Browse Nearby Words

Lamaze
lamb
Lamb
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lamb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lamb. Accessed 9 May. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

lamb

1 of 2 noun
ˈlam How to pronounce lamb (audio)
1
a
: a young sheep especially less than one year old or without permanent teeth
b
: the flesh of a lamb used as food
2
: an innocent, weak, or gentle person

lamb

2 of 2 verb
: to give birth to a lamb

Biographical Definition

Lamb 1 of 3

biographical name (1)

ˈlam How to pronounce Lamb (audio)
Charles 1775–1834 pseudonym Elia
ˈe-lē-ə,
 commonly  ˈē-
 English essayist and critic

Lamb

2 of 3

biographical name (2)

William 1779–1848 2nd Viscount Melbourne English statesman

Lamb

3 of 3

biographical name (3)

Willis Eugene 1913–2008 American physicist

More from Merriam-Webster on lamb

Nglish: Translation of lamb for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about lamb

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Words You Always Have to Look Up

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 1

Rare and Amusing Insults, Volume 3

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

More Words with Remarkable Origins
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 1
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All