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• dry nurse
  dry nurse

  noun

  a nurse who takes care of but does not breast-feed another's infant.
• dry-nurse
  dry-nurse

  verb (used with object)

  to act as a dry nurse to.

dry nurse

¹ American  

noun

1. a nurse who takes care of but does not breast-feed another's infant.

2. Informal. a person who tutors and guides an inexperienced person at work.

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dry-nurse ² American  

[drahy-nurs] / ˈdraɪˌnɜrs /

verb (used with object)

dry-nursed, dry-nursing

1. to act as a dry nurse to.

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dry nurse British  

noun

1. a nurse who cares for a child without suckling it Compare wet nurse

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verb

1. to care for (a baby or young child) without suckling

Etymology

Origin of dry nurse¹

First recorded in 1590–1600

Origin of dry-nurse²

First recorded in 1575–85

Example Sentences

You must stop the nursing, and keep the woman here as a dry nurse, in order that she may not go away to carry the disease elsewhere.

From Damaged Goods; the great play "Les avaries" by Brieux, novelized with the approval of the author by Brieux, Eugène

I am not going to dry nurse him.

From Gallipoli Diary, Volume 2 by Hamilton, Ian, Sir

It was not to be expected that Cecily, because she had given birth to a child, should of a sudden convert herself into a combination of wet and dry nurse, after the common model.

From The Emancipated by Gissing, George

I seem to need a dry nurse quite as much as my children.

From Julia Ward Howe 1819-1910 by Elliott, Maud Howe

“I don’t mean a dry nurse, you know, old chappie, though you said, you were ‘dry’ just now,” replied Larkyns, laughing at his own joke.

From Crown and Anchor Under the Pen'ant by Greene, John B.

Related Words

• cradle
• feed
• nourish