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# weaning

noun (weaning, uncountable); verb, -ing form of wean (wean, weans, weaned, weaning)

«weaning» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Slowly getting a baby or a young animal used to eating food instead of drinking only its mother's milk (or formula). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/weaning/#m1)
2. Slowly helping someone to give up something they depend on or are used to: "weaning him off sweets". [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/weaning/#m2)
3. (Scotland, noun "wean") A child; this is a different, Scots word. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/weaning/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science lessons on life cycles and mammals, weaning is the stage when young animals stop feeding on milk. Parents talk about weaning a baby onto mashed food around six months. In everyday life, "weaning off" means cutting down slowly, such as weaning off screens. Phrases: "wean off", "wean onto", "be weaned from".

### Examples

- The piglets are weaning now and eating from the trough. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/weaning/#x1)
- Weaning a baby starts with soft, mashed food. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/weaning/#x2)
- My baby sister was weaned onto mashed banana. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/weaning/#x3)
- Puppies finish weaning at about eight weeks old. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/weaning/#x4)
- Dad is weaning himself off sugar in his tea. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/weaning/#x5)
- Mum is weaning us off screens before bedtime. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/weaning/#x6)

### Note

"Wean" is a regular verb (weaned, weaning). Weaning is slow and step by step, not sudden. In Scotland, "wean" (sounds like "wayn") also means a small child: "Get the weans to bed."

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «weaning» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/weaning/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«weaning» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/weaning.html) on Mova free.