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

Discover, allow, and nurture that human spirit through the experiences of life.

From MarketWatch

Former colleagues have commented that Watson nurtured the careers of female scientists at Harvard in the 1950s and 60s, at a time when that was not the norm.

From BBC

Throughout my childhood, my mother bristled with energy and was the most nurturing person.

From The Wall Street Journal

The producer said he hoped the financial impact of global success would help nurture future writers with Welsh stories to tell.

From BBC

His mercurial talent would be nurtured by the 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson, from neighbouring Bradford, at a now defunct club in the north Leeds suburb of Yeadon, a few miles from their home.

From BBC