wean (w?n)tr.v. weaned, wean·ing, weans 1. To accustom (the young of a mammal) to take nourishment other than by suckling.2. To detach from that to which one is strongly habituated or devoted: She weaned herself from cigarettes.3. To accustom to something from an early age. Often used with on: “The northerners among the refugees … were weaned on harsh weather and infertile soils and are known for their rigorous work ethic” (Lowell Weiss).[Middle English wenen, from Old English wenian; see wen- in Indo-European roots.]Usage Note: In recent years weaned on has come to be widely used in the sense “raised on,” as in Moviegoers weaned on the Star Trek TV series will doubtless find the film to their liking. A few critics have objected to this usage on the grounds that wean refers literally to a detachment from a source of nourishment. But the process of weaning involves a substitution of some other form of nourishment for mother’s milk; thus it is sometimes said that a child is weaned onto or on sugar water. Hence a sentence like Paul was weaned on folk music may suggest metaphorically that Paul’s exposure to folk music began from the time he stopped nursing, that is, from a very early age.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.wean (wi?n) vb (tr) 1. (Physiology) to cause (a child or young mammal) to replace mother’s milk by other nourishment2. (Zoology) to cause (a child or young mammal) to replace mother’s milk by other nourishment3. (usually foll by from) to cause to desert former habits, pursuits, etc[Old English wenian to accustom; related to German gewöhnen to get used to] ?weaning nwean (we?n; wi?n) ndialect Scot and Northern English a child; infant[a contraction of wee ane or perhaps a shortened form of weanling]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014wean (win) v.t. 1. to cause (a child or young animal) to lose the need to suckle; accustom to food other than the mother’s milk. 2. to withdraw (a person, the affections, etc.) from some object or practice deemed undesirable: to wean oneself from rich desserts. 3. wean on, to accustom to or familiarize with something from, or as if from, childhood: a brilliant student weaned on the classics. [before 1000; Middle English wenen, Old English wenian to accustom, c. Old Saxon wennian, Old High German giwennen, Old Norse venja] wean?ed?ness, n. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.weanPast participle: weanedGerund: weaningImperativePresentPreteritePresent ContinuousPresent PerfectPast ContinuousPast PerfectFutureFuture PerfectFuture ContinuousPresent Perfect ContinuousFuture Perfect ContinuousPast Perfect ContinuousConditionalPast ConditionalImperativeweanweanPresentI weanyou weanhe/she/it weanswe weanyou weanthey weanPreteriteI weanedyou weanedhe/she/it weanedwe weanedyou weanedthey weanedPresent ContinuousI am weaningyou are weaninghe/she/it is weaningwe are weaningyou are weaningthey are weaningPresent PerfectI have weanedyou have weanedhe/she/it has weanedwe have weanedyou have weanedthey have weanedPast ContinuousI was weaningyou were weaninghe/she/it was weaningwe were weaningyou were weaningthey were weaningPast PerfectI had weanedyou had weanedhe/she/it had weanedwe had weanedyou had weanedthey had weanedFutureI will weanyou will weanhe/she/it will weanwe will weanyou will weanthey will weanFuture PerfectI will have weanedyou will have weanedhe/she/it will have weanedwe will have weanedyou will have weanedthey will have weanedFuture ContinuousI will be weaningyou will be weaninghe/she/it will be weaningwe will be weaningyou will be weaningthey will be weaningPresent Perfect ContinuousI have been weaningyou have been weaninghe/she/it has been weaningwe have been weaningyou have been weaningthey have been weaningFuture Perfect ContinuousI will have been weaningyou will have been weaninghe/she/it will have been weaningwe will have been weaningyou will have been weaningthey will have been weaningPast Perfect ContinuousI had been weaningyou had been weaninghe/she/it had been weaningwe had been weaningyou had been weaningthey had been weaningConditionalI would weanyou would weanhe/she/it would weanwe would weanyou would weanthey would weanPast ConditionalI would have weanedyou would have weanedhe/she/it would have weanedwe would have weanedyou would have weanedthey would have weanedCollins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011