ENGLISH
REFERENCE

milking

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈmɪɫkɪŋ// UK //mˈɪlkɪŋ// milk·ing Informal

v. to try to get as much money, help, or attention as possible from a situation. You use this when someone is taking advantage of something for too long.

v. to exploit a situation or a person's feelings to obtain the maximum possible benefit or advantage. Often carries a negative connotation of greed or dishonesty.


SIMPLE

He is milking his injury to get extra time off work.

CONTEXTUAL

The actor is still milking his one famous role from twenty years ago to get free meals at restaurants.

COMPLEX

While the initial success of the product was genuine, the company is now accused of milking the brand by releasing low-quality sequels that offer no real innovation.

Synonyms
Usage

The verb is transitive and typically takes a direct object representing the source of the benefit.

Pitfall

He is milking from the situationHe is milking the situationMilking is transitive in this sense; it does not require the preposition 'from' before the object.

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