foster family

American  

[fahs-ter fam-uh-lee, fam-lee] / ˈfɑs tər ˌfæm ə li, ˈfæm li /

noun

1. a family that provides legal guardianship and home care to a child awaiting long-term placement.

2. a family that provides a home and care for a pet awaiting adoption or for a wild animal that is orphaned or recovering from an injury.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

foster family

The children have been placed with a French foster family in Lisbon pending their return to France.

From Barron's ● May 23, 2026

Meanwhile, the children, who are aged four and five, are with a French foster family in Lisbon and are expected to return to France.

From BBC ● May 23, 2026

He spent more than a year in hospital, before moving to live with a foster family.

From BBC ● May 11, 2026

The teen, from Honduras and identified only as "Henry," was taken away from his foster family in Pensacola, Florida, "in handcuffs and leg irons," the Miami Herald reported.

From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2025

Instead, child protective services placed us back in the home of the foster family we’d been with before.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles