For a woman or a female animal, to produce milk from the body to feed her baby. It is the medical or scientific word for it — doctors, nurses, midwives, and biology books use it; ordinary people say 'produce milk', or talk about breastfeeding.

For a woman or a female animal對一個女性或雌性動物來說, to produce milk from the body to feed her babylactate指的是身體分泌乳汁來餵養寶寶。It is the medical or scientific word for it這是醫學或科學上的用字 — doctors, nurses, midwives, and biology books use it醫生、護理師、助產士和生物課本都會用它; ordinary people say 'produce milk', or talk about breastfeeding一般人則會說「分泌乳汁」，或直接講餵母奶。

The two are not quite the same thing: lactating is the body MAKING the milk, breastfeeding is the baby DRINKING it, so a mother can lactate without breastfeeding (she may pump the milk instead). Because it is clinical, it sounds neutral and slightly distant, which is exactly why the medical world likes it.

The two are not quite the same thing這兩者不完全一樣: lactating is the body MAKING the milk分泌乳汁是身體在「製造」奶水, breastfeeding is the baby DRINKING it餵母奶則是寶寶在「喝」奶水, so a mother can lactate without breastfeeding所以一位媽媽可以有泌乳卻沒有親餵 (she may pump the milk instead她可能是改用擠奶的方式)。Because it is clinical因為這是臨床用語, it sounds neutral and slightly distant聽起來中性、也帶點距離感, which is exactly why the medical world likes it這正是醫學界喜歡用它的原因。

It also lives in a small family of related words you will meet on food packaging and in hospitals: lactation, lactose, and so on. Note that the same spelling is also a chemistry noun — lactate, a substance your muscles produce during hard exercise — but that is a different word with a different stress pattern, and not this one.

It also lives in a small family of related words you will meet on food packaging and in hospitals它還有一小群相關的字，會出現在食品包裝和醫院裡: lactation, lactose, and so on像lactation（泌乳）、lactose（乳糖）等等。Note that the same spelling is also a chemistry noun請注意，同樣的拼法也是一個化學名詞 — lactate, a substance your muscles produce during hard exercise指乳酸鹽，是你劇烈運動時肌肉產生的物質 — but that is a different word with a different stress pattern但那是不同的字，重音位置也不同, and not this one不是這裡講的這個字。