foster

FAW-stur/ˈfɔ.stɚ/UKFOS-tuh/ˈfɒs.tə/FAW-stuh/ˈfɔs.tə/

Verbfosters, fostering, fostered

Noun pluralfosters

10 meanings of foster

Practice

1
verbtransitive
To help something grow or develop over time.
Like watering a plant so it grows bigger and stronger.
Coaches try to foster teamwork on every squad.
The club fosters a love of music in young children.
Similarencourage, promote, cultivate, nurture, stimulate
Oppositediscourage, stifle, suppress, inhibit
Note
2
verbtransitive
To raise a child, especially one who is not your own by birth.
They decided to foster two children from the local shelter.
She fostered her young niece while her sister recovered.
Similarraise, rear, nurture, parent
Note
3
adjective
Giving parental care to a child who is not related to you by birth.
Their foster mother taught them how to cook.
He became a foster parent after years of volunteering.
Oppositebiological
Note
4
adjective
Cared for by an adult who is not your birth parent.
The foster child settled quickly into her new home.
Every foster teenager at the center has a caseworker.
Oppositebiological
5
adjective
Connected to others by fostering rather than by birth.
Her foster brother became her closest friend.
They stayed in touch as a foster family for many years.
Oppositebiological
6
verbtransitive
To care for something tenderly and hold it dear.
They foster old family customs that others have let go.
She fostered a small hope that he would write back.
Similarcherish, nurture, nurse, cultivate, harbor
Oppositeneglect, abandon
7
nouncolloquialcountable
A person who takes care of a child who is not their own.
Their foster was kind and patient with every child.
She became a foster for two young siblings last year.
Similarcarer, caregiver, guardian
8
noununcountable
The care and protection you give to someone you look after.
The rescue dog will stay in foster until a family adopts him.
Long ago, many babies were sent out to foster with a family in the village.
Similarcare, guardianship

Less common meanings

9
nounobsolete
A person who guards and looks after a forest.
The foster tracked poachers through the king's woods at night.
A griesly Foster forth did rush.
1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie QueeneHere, foster means a forester, a person who guards a forest.
Note
10
verbobsoleteintransitive
To grow up or be trained together with others.
The two boys fostered together under the same old tutor.
Children of the household foster together from their earliest years.
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of foster apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Old English fōstor, meaning "food" or "sustenance." It goes back to older Germanic words for food and nourishment.