foster
verb (used with object)
to promote the growth or development of; further; encourage.
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foster 2.
foster
1 American
[faw-ster, fos-ter]
/ ˈfɔ stər, ˈfɒs tər /
verb (used with object)
-
fosters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fostered,
past participle, past
-
fostering
present participle
-
to promote the growth or development of; further; encourage.
to foster new ideas.
- Antonyms:
- discourage
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to care for a foster child or a pet as a temporary guardian.
The couple fostered two boys until they could be reunited with their birth parents.
Have you ever fostered a kitten that you just couldn’t part from afterwards?
-
to care for or cherish.
-
British. to place (a child) in a foster home.
-
Obsolete. to feed or nourish.
Foster
2
American
[faw-ster, fos-ter]
/ ˈfɔ stər, ˈfɒs tər /
noun
-
Stephen (Collins), 1826–64, U.S. songwriter.
-
William Z(ebulon) 1881–1961, U.S. labor organizer: leader in the Communist Party.
-
a male given name.
foster
1
British
/ ˈfɒstə /
verb
-
to promote the growth or development of
-
to bring up (a child, etc); rear
-
to cherish (a plan, hope, etc) in one's mind
-
-
to place (a child) in the care of foster parents
-
to bring up under fosterage
-
adjective
-
(in combination) indicating relationship through fostering and not through birth
foster mother
foster child
-
(in combination) of or involved in the rearing of a child by persons other than his natural or adopted parents
foster home
Foster
2
British
/ ˈfɒstə /
noun
-
Jodie . born 1962, US film actress and director: her films include Taxi Driver (1976), The Accused (1988), The Silence of the Lambs (1990), Little Man Tate (1991; also directed), Nell (1995), and Panic Room (2002)
-
Norman , Baron. born 1935, British architect. His works include the Willis Faber building (1978) in Ipswich, Stansted Airport, Essex (1991), Chek Lap Kok Airport, Hong Kong (1998), the renovation of the Reichstag, Berlin (1999), and City Hall, London (2002)
-
Stephen Collins . 1826–64, US composer of songs such as The Old Folks at Home and Oh Susanna
Synonym Usage
See cherish.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fostersimple
-
fosterssimple
-
have fosteredperfect
-
has fosteredperfect
-
am fosteringprogressive
-
are fosteringprogressive
-
is fosteringprogressive
-
have been fosteringperfect progressive
-
has been fosteringperfect progressive
Past
-
fosteredsimple
-
had fosteredperfect
-
was fosteringprogressive
-
were fosteringprogressive
-
had been fosteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of foster
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English fōstor “nourishment,” fōstrian “to nourish”; cognate with Old Norse fōstr; akin to food
Explanation
To foster is to nurture something. A teacher could foster creativity by providing crayons to every student. You can also foster a child, which means the child lives in your home for a time. You may have seen photos of a cat taking care of a baby rabbit, or a pig nursing a litter of puppies: those are little foster families. Foster can be a verb (to foster someone or something) or an adjective used to describe a foster family, child, or parent. The word is from the Old English fostrian meaning "to supply with food, nourish, support," which sounds like what those mama hogs were doing. Unlike adopt, foster has a time limit.
Vocabulary lists containing foster
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It's All in the Family
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Understanding why someone acted as they did can help foster compassion for others and, importantly, for oneself.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
“The landscape will foster habitat for birds, bees and butterflies,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
His council plays a leading role in the South West Fostering Hub, which was set up two years ago to help councils work together on recruitment and support for foster carers.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
The number of foster carers has fallen by 12% since 2021 while the number of children needing care continues to rise.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
I knew our foster mother would gently scold me in the morning, but I just kept doing it.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
Williams’ violation was one of three called Tuesday by the crew led by Scott Foster.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Speaking only to confirm his name, age and address, Foster appeared at Newport Magistrates' Court on Friday, wearing a grey tracksuit and using a crutch to support himself.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
He played alongside David Foster in the band for the original “Rocky Horror” stage show and took a job once held by Barry Manilow to serve as Bette Midler’s musical director.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
After the Covid-19 pandemic, actor Ben Foster decided to chase a slower life in Nashville.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
“That’s the spirit I like!” cried the Director, and clapped Mr. Foster on the shoulder.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Jessica, who now lives in the south of England and fosters guinea pigs when not campaigning, says she will always be affected by her relationship with Coles.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
The hands-off approach empowers her top talent and fosters trust between her executive team and the board of directors, Tomé told the WSJ Leadership Institute’s Alan Murray.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
But instead of the traditional cutthroat audition setting, where every actor silently sizes up the competition, the Brook Arts Center fosters a warm environment.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
Ghobadi has volunteered for a program that teaches fifth-grade students about the law, served on a community college board and fosters “several dogs a year to prevent them from being housed in crowded shelters.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
This new consensus must begin with dialogue, a conversation that fosters a critical consciousness, a key prerequisite to effective social action.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
The growing attractiveness of Madrid has fostered an influx of wealth, especially in real estate -- but the bonanza has come at a cost.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
These sanitized accounts ignored the homemade dangers, such as the health problems fostered by an overstretched military — realities many children would face when a changed parent finally came home.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
It was all the more jarring because elsewhere Nordqvist had unmistakably fostered that famed European spirit which so often permeates through Solheim and Ryder Cup successes.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
American colleges became incubators of a new Canadian elite, whose parents had attended British universities; by the late 60s, those campuses also fostered a Vietnam-era counterculture that was skeptical of American power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
The lad was being fostered by Lord Renly's castellan at Storm's End.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Institutions also play a role in fostering that love, too.
From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026
Wes, 46, believes many people rule themselves out before finding out what fostering involves.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
For Dianne Blais, standing for Congress as a Green Party candidate is not about winning but about continuing her work as a volunteer that ranges from serving in school positions to fostering children.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
A 2026 study from the journal Mental Health and Social Inclusion describes stand-up comedy as a “powerful medium for reframing traumatic experiences, fostering social connectedness and enhancing emotional resilience.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
One of the ways of fostering creativity is to encourage students’ improvisation.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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