Meaning & use
being milked
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“being milked” is a form of “milk”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
having milk taken from a cow or other animal by hand or machine.
Grammar: Passive -ing form; often used after verbs like see, watch, or keep.
Patterns
- be being milked
- watch something being milked
- keep something being milked
The cows are being milked twice a day.
We watched the goats being milked by hand.
The farmer kept the cows calm while they were being milked.
verbtransitive or intransitiveinformalfigurativedisapproving
being used by someone to get as much money, help, or advantage as possible, often unfairly.
Grammar: Informal and figurative; often used in the passive: The system is being milked.
Patterns
- be being milked
- milk someone for something
- milk something dry
Some employees feel they are being milked by the company.
The charity was being milked by a few dishonest officials.
He complained that taxpayers were being milked to pay for the project.
Word forms
| base form | milk |
|---|---|
| third person singular | milks |
| past tense | milked |
| past participle | milked |
| -ing form | milking |
Common combinations
- being milked by hand
- The goats are still being milked by hand.
- being milked for money
- The fans felt the team was being milked for money.
- milk something dry
- Investors milked the company dry and then left.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: being milked or milked?
being milked vs milked
Milked is the simple past or past participle; being milked adds the idea of an action in progress or happening to someone.
Practice
Which sentence uses being milked correctly?
Choose one answer.
The passive -ing form is being + past participle: are being milked. Option 1 uses the base form, option 2 uses the -ing form, and option 3 adds by before a time phrase, which is wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “being milked”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.