lamb

1 of 2

noun

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
lamblike adjective
lamby 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 noun

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
Noun
The menu embraces several cuts of beef and succulent, inches-thick lamb chops served with mint jelly. Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 Meat offerings include a wide variety of cuts from beef, lamb, veal and chicken and are priced according to quantity. Roger Sands, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 Lamb shanks, shoulder, and leg (bone-in or boneless) are best for braising or slow-cooking, whereas quick-cooking lamb chops can be seared, roasted, or grilled. Zoe Denenberg, Bon Appétit, 29 Feb. 2024 The Major League Eating speed-eating record for lamb meat sandwiches is 81 4-ounce sandwiches in 10 minutes, held by Joey Chestnut, famed mutton for punishment. Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Feb. 2024 The menu includes mussels, escargots, duck confit and roasted rack of lamb and the backdrop includes much by which to be entertained. Amanda Hancock, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024 Each little lamb is hand-piped with a ganache made with white chocolate, strawberries, and Washington rhubarb. Amanda Ogle, Southern Living, 16 Feb. 2024 Get the recipe > Rosemary Jerk Lamb Chops Allspice, rosemary, and soy sauce play surprisingly well together in these lollipop-like lamb chops with gorgeous grill marks. Saveur Editors, Saveur, 14 Feb. 2024 Try rack of lamb with truffle sauce from his brick oven, snapper with Roquefort, veal with two mushrooms and specials. Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 Feb. 2024
Verb
Electric fences can keep bears, wolves and coyotes out of calving and lambing pastures. Ben Long, The Denver Post, 13 Feb. 2024 As Rona tends to the farming demands of lambing season, reminders of her raucous drunken days in London rupture her thoughts like shards of glass, with the thumping techno music that accompanies many of those memories pounding away in her headphones. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 March is lambing season, and Fat Sheep had had a bumper crop. Tom Vanderbilt, Travel + Leisure, 27 Aug. 2023 In rural areas, vultures can go after weak or sick livestock, particularly during lambing and calving season. Adithi Ramakrishnan, Dallas News, 20 Apr. 2023 Fiennes turned up to help out for a week during lambing season wearing a black trenchcoat and leather gloves. Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2020 Things are worse in lambing season when criminals can double or triple their takings. The Economist, 25 July 2019 As the weather went from bad to worse, many farmers fell short on feed — particularly important now, a month before lambing season — and water supplies were cut off because of frozen pipes. Ceylan Yeginsu, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2018 This is accomplished by different diets (grain vs. a grain and hay diet) and lambing at different times of the year. Amy Dewall Dadmun, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 16 Sep. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lamb.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Dictionary Entries Near lamb

Cite this Entry

“Lamb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lamb. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

lamb

1 of 2 noun
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)

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

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