🍖 Sheep meat 🐑 A young sheep 🙂 A gentle person 🐑 To give birth

to lamb

1 7.0

To give birth to a young sheep

verb
/læm/

: parir

From then on, the cook during haying or calving or lambing at the ranches where my father worked was Bessie instead of Berneta. The couple who would throw themselves and their muscles into sheep deals were Charlie and his mother-in-law instead of his young wife.
lambing time
calving and lambing

Examples

They're all alike at lambing.

Rob Roy (1995)
"They can't take the chill and I've got to find them before they die," Dermott said once, explaining that he didn't always know when the ewes would lamb.

Fiction book (1993)
This year he went to Bucky's at night more than he usually does, right up to lambing time, which made me nervous.

Fiction book (1992)
Turn seed to sprout and ewe to lamb.

Fiction book (2002)
Aunt Mary says the sheep are lambing now, so I bet you'll be busy.

Fiction book (1999)
Being a greenhorn, I asked the rancher why he had so many rams, not knowing that his ewes had just lambed and had full udders. He was kind enough to point out the ram with only a smile on his face.

Blog text (5)
The men who were to be buried, for they almost always were men, were the hired hands of the Big Belt country who had worked with my parents at haying, lambing, and calving—people who drew no cortege while they were alive.

Fiction book (1993)
The farmer is excited because his ewe is about to lamb this week.
During spring, many ewes start to lamb in the pastures, creating a lively scene.
To prepare for the busy time, the ranchers ensure that everything is ready for when the ewes begin to lamb.

Synonyms

to give birth

vsto lamb

252 1.4

To have a baby or young animal from your body

is specific to a ewe producing a young sheep rather than any animal

to lambing

vsto lamb

3.9

To give birth to lambs

is giving birth to a single young sheep rather than several

Antonyms

to abort

6 6.2

To stop a pregnancy or unborn young before birth, often naturally

Idioms

gentle as a lamb

Informal

1 3.9

A person or animal who is very kind and not likely to hurt others

mutton dressed as lamb

Slur

9.5

An older person who tries to look much younger in an awkward way

Compounds

lamb chop

19 2.1

A small cut of lamb meat with a bone, usually cooked and eaten

rack of lamb

8 3.4

A cut of lamb from the ribs often roasted and served whole or as chops

leg of lamb

6 1.0

A back leg of a young sheep cooked and served as a roast

sacrificial lamb

Informal

6 7.7

A person who is blamed or punished to protect others

lamb curry

1 2.3

A dish of lamb cooked in a spicy sauce like Indian food

roast lamb

1 1.6

Meat from a young sheep that is cooked in an oven or over a fire until brown

lamb pie

1 1.1

A baked pastry filled with cooked lamb and vegetables

lamb roast

1 2.0

A large piece of lamb cooked whole in an oven

breast of lamb

4.1

A cut of lamb with the breastbone and meat around it, often roasted or used in stews

cut of lamb

2.5

A piece of meat from a lamb that you cook

bar-lamb

Slang

9.9

A person who is kind and gentle and easily says yes to others

baa-lamb

Baby Talk

9.9

A children's word for a young sheep used when talking to it

lamb succory

9.9

A small wild plant with yellow flowers that grows in dry grass

loin of lamb

3.5

A tender cut of meat from the back of a young sheep often roasted or grilled

saddle of lamb

Specialized

6.7

A cut of lamb with the backbone and meat on both sides, roasted as one piece

Paschal Lamb

9.9

A lamb that Christians use as a symbol of Jesus dying for people at Easter

Persian lamb

8.6

Soft, curly fur from a type of sheep used for coats and hats

Scythian lamb

Archaic

9.9

A plant from Central Asia that people once thought grew live lambs

Surface Forms

lamb infinitive

lambed past

lambed past participle

lambing present participle

lambs third person singular

Etymology

Lamb as a verb meaning 'to give birth to a lamb' comes from the same noun, so a mother sheep 'lambs' when she has a baby sheep.