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

For years, Washington maintained a hub-and-spoke approach to allies surrounding China, nurturing singular relationships with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia and others.

From The Wall Street Journal

The head of the U.S. forces in the Middle East is leaning on relationships nurtured over years as he commands the fight against Tehran.

From The Wall Street Journal

The head of the U.S. forces in the Middle East is leaning on relationships nurtured over years as he commands the fight against Tehran.

From The Wall Street Journal

The head of the U.S. forces in the Middle East is leaning on relationships nurtured over years as he commands the fight against Tehran.

From The Wall Street Journal

Garcia transitioned into the position of rehearsal director and discovered a love for nurturing the company culture.

From Los Angeles Times