What does "lamb" mean?
A young sheep.
Lamb
/læm/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A young sheep.
- Grammar: lamb is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: agneau, angel, babe, baby.
- Useful contrasts: abort, adult sheep, beef.
- Usage evidence: Have you got any preference between beef and lamb?
How to use "lamb"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "lamb" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "lamb" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "lamb" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "lamb" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "lamb" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "agneau" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "lamb", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A young sheep. countable, uncountable
"Mary had a little lamb, its fleece as white as snow."
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of lamb (“a fan of Mariah Carey”). alt-of, slang
"Mariah Carey’s memoir opens with the great line: “I refuse to acknowledge time, famously so.” As if to establish the rules of the book, then add, with a toss of hair, but you knew that. Most readers of The Meaning of Mariah Carey, which the record-smashing songstress wrote with Michaela Angela Davis, probably already did know that (and are happy to stick to Mariah’s anti-schedule), but there’s plenty in the 337-page volume that will surprise even the most devoted Lambs."
- 3 young sheep wordnet
- 4 A young goat; a kid. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 1611, →OCLC, Exodus 12:5: “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:”"
- 5 the flesh of a young domestic sheep eaten as food wordnet
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 The flesh of a lamb used as food; (sometimes loosely) the flesh of a sheep of any age used as food. uncountable
- 7 a sweet innocent mild-mannered person (especially a child) wordnet
- 8 A person who is meek, docile, and easily led. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"Near-synonym: sheep"
- 9 a person easily deceived or cheated (especially in financial matters) wordnet
- 10 Lambskin. countable, uncountable
"They were as alike as prisoners, dressed in black silk waists and fitted skirts, with shawls of crimped black lamb across their shoulders."
- 11 A simple, unsophisticated person. countable, uncountable
- 12 One who ignorantly speculates on the stock exchange and is victimized. countable, slang, uncountable
- 13 A fan of American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer Mariah Carey (born 1969). countable, slang, uncountable
"Part of me revels in the campiness of Mariah’s butterfly metaphors and puppies-and-kittens existence. […] But I also genuinely love her music, including this album. I’m one of her lambs."
Verb
- 1 Of a sheep, to give birth. intransitive
- 2 give birth to a lamb wordnet
- 3 To assist (sheep) to give birth. intransitive, transitive
"The shepherd was up all night, lambing her young ewes."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Middle English. countable, uncountable
- 2 Jesus; the Lamb of God
"And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."
- 3 An unincorporated community in Craig Township, Switzerland County, Indiana, United States. countable, uncountable
- 4 The constellation and zodiacal sign Aries.
"The Fish, His Church in union bound; The Lamb, once slain, but now enthroned; The Bull the victory shall gain; The Twins, Divine and human reign."
- 5 An extinct town in Marion County, Missouri, United States. countable, uncountable
Show 1 more definition
- 6 An islet (small island) in the Firth of Forth, East Lothian council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NT5386). countable, uncountable
Example
"Have you got any preference between beef and lamb?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "lamb"?
Common synonyms include: agneau, angel, babe, baby, baby-doll, bairn.
How do you use "lamb" in a sentence?
Have you got any preference between beef and lamb?
How do you pronounce "lamb"?
Pronounced /læm/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English lamb, from Old English lamb, from Proto-West Germanic *lamb, from Proto-Germanic *lambaz, probably from Proto-Indo-European *h₁l̥h₁onbʰos, enlargement of *h₁elh₁én, ultimately from *h₁el-. See also Dutch lam, German Lamm, Bavarian Lamperl, Danish lam, Swedish lamm, Finnish lammas, Scottish Gaelic lon (“elk”), Ancient Greek ἔλαφος (élaphos, “red deer”). More at elk.
Etymology 2
1. From Middle English lamb as a nickname. 2. From a short form of Lambert. 3. Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Luain. 4. Possibly also a translation of French agneau.
Etymology 3
See Lamb of God. See also lamb.
Etymology 4
See lamb.