nurture

American  

[nur-cher] / ˈnɜr tʃər /

verb (used with object)

nurtured, nurturing

1. to feed and protect.

   to nurture one's offspring.

2. to support and encourage, as during the period of training or development; foster.

   to nurture promising musicians.

3. to bring up; train; educate.

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noun

1. rearing, upbringing, training, education, or the like.

2. development.

   the nurture of young artists.

3. something that nourishes; nourishment; food.

nurture British  

/ ˈnɜːtʃə /

noun

1. the act or process of promoting the development, etc, of a child

2. something that nourishes

3. biology the environmental factors that partly determine the structure of an organism See also nature

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verb

1. to feed or support

2. to educate or train

Related Words

See nurse.

Other Word Forms

• nurturable adjective
• nurtureless adjective
• nurturer noun
• unnurtured adjective
• well-nurtured adjective

Etymology

Origin of nurture

First recorded in 1300–50; (noun) Middle English norture, from Middle French, variant of nourriture, from Late Latin nūtrītūra “a nourishing,” equivalent to Latin nūtrīt(us) (past participle of nūtrīre “to feed”) + -ūra noun suffix; nourish, -ure; (verb) derivative of the noun

Example Sentences

“There’s so many different sides to Jackie,” she said, ticking off a litany: “She’s fierce, she’s gentle, she’s demanding. She’s nurturing. She’s a mother. She’s a warrior.”

From Los Angeles Times

The challenge now is for the academy to unearth and nurture several more like him in the years to come following a period of huge change behind the scenes.

From BBC

He also repeated criticism that boards of directors in the UK sometimes lacked the expertise to nurture new technology in the way that American companies, particularly in Silicon Valley, have achieved.

From BBC

“In an era where we’re all so online, it was reassuring and felt nurturing. It’s good evidence of how much film culture means to people.”

From Los Angeles Times

Sakamoto said her coach had told her that she could "nurture a future gold medallist. So maybe you’ll see me as a coach at the Olympics."

From Barron's