infant formula

noun

A manufactured food simulating human breast milk, designed to be fed to babies and infants under twelve months of age.

Meanings

nouninfant formula (countable and uncountable, plural infant formulas or infant formulae or infant formulæ)

plural infant formulas · plural infant formulae · plural infant formulæ

  1. countableuncountableA manufactured food simulating human breast milk, designed to be fed to babies and infants under twelve months of age.

    No extra ingredients to calculate, because it's a complete infant formula.

    1944, Rocky Mountain Medical Journal, volume 41, page 291
    4 more examples

    The great desideratum, in devising an infant's formula for food, is to make it, until he be nine months old, to resemble as much as possible a mother's own milk.

    1888, Pye Henry Chavasse, Wife and Mother: Or, Information for Every Woman, page 272

    Reconstituted powdered infant formula is probably a common vehicle in transmitting Salmonella to infants, given its major role in the infant diet, but contamination of formula is more likely to occur from the preparer or preparation environment than from the manufacturing process.

    2004, Enterobacter Sakazakii and Other Microorganisms in Powdered Infant Formula, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

    Health professionals and caregivers are faced with a bewildering array of infant formulas for non-breastfed infants.

    2007, Don M. Roberton, Practical Paediatrics

    Before the early 1900s, mothers who couldn't breast-feed for medical reasons didn't have the option of infant formula and often used wet nurses, or women who were employed to breast-feed children other than their own.

    2018, Kristin Lawless, Formerly known as food, →ISBN, page 85

    Synonyms: baby formula, formula

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA manufactured food simulating human breast milk, designed to be fed to babies and infants under twelve months of age.

Also see

Translations

Afrikaans formulemelk
  • formulemelkfood simulating human milk
Bulgarian мле́чна фо́рмула
  • мле́чна фо́рмула (mléčna fórmula)food simulating human milk
Chinese Cantonese 嬰兒配方奶粉 /婴儿配方奶粉, BB奶粉
  • 嬰兒配方奶粉 /婴儿配方奶粉 (jing¹ ji⁴ pui³ fong¹ naai⁵ fan²)food simulating human milk
  • BB奶粉food simulating human milk
Chinese Mandarin 嬰兒配方奶粉 /婴儿配方奶粉
  • 嬰兒配方奶粉 /婴儿配方奶粉 (yīng'ér pèifāng nǎifěn)food simulating human milk
Finnish äidinmaidonkorvike, äidinmaidonvastike
  • äidinmaidonkorvikefood simulating human milk
  • äidinmaidonvastikefood simulating human milk
German Säuglingsanfangsnahrung
  • Säuglingsanfangsnahrungfood simulating human milk
Icelandic ungbarnablanda
  • ungbarnablandafood simulating human milk
Indonesian susu formula
  • susu formulafood simulating human milk
Italian latte artificiale
  • latte artificialefood simulating human milk
Japanese 粉ミルク
  • 粉ミルク (kona miruku)food simulating human milk
Norwegian Bokmål morsmelkerstatning, morsmjølkerstatning
  • morsmelkerstatningfood simulating human milk
  • morsmjølkerstatningfood simulating human milk
Polish mleko dla niemowląt
  • mleko dla niemowlątfood simulating human milk
Portuguese fórmula infantil, leite artificial
  • fórmula infantilfood simulating human milk
  • leite artificialfood simulating human milk
Spanish leche maternizada, leche de fórmula
  • leche maternizadafood simulating human milk
  • leche de fórmulafood simulating human milk
  • leche infantilfood simulating human milk
Swedish modersmjölksersättning, bröstmjölksersättning
  • modersmjölksersättningfood simulating human milk
  • bröstmjölksersättningfood simulating human milk
Turkish bebek formülü
  • bebek formülüfood simulating human milk
Cite this entry
APA

infant formula. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/infant%20formula

MLA

“infant formula.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/infant%20formula. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “infant formula,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/infant%20formula.

Source: infant formula on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.