foster

foster — verb

1. to take a child or animal into your home and look after them for a limited perio

1.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to take a child or animal into your home and look after them for a limited period, without becoming their legal parent or permanent owner.

Example

Hyun and his wife decided to foster a teenage girl from the local agency.

foster + direct object (child placed by agency)

The shelter asked Karim if he could foster the injured puppy for a few weeks.

foster + direct object (animal); time-bound

Common collocations
  • foster a child
  • foster a puppy
  • foster a teenager
  • foster a kitten
  • foster a baby
Synonyms
  • take in

    less formal, can also mean offering shelter to anyone (not just children or animals)

  • look after

    broader meaning — can refer to any care situation, not limited to non-legal arrangements

Antonyms
  • adopt

    permanent legal parenthood rather than temporary care

Grammar Patterns

foster + noun phrase (child or animal)

be fostered + by + agent

Usage Note

Frequently used in the passive ('The child was fostered by neighbours'). Unlike 'adopt', fostering is always temporary — the biological parents retain legal rights. The verb can also refer to animals when shelters need short-term homes before permanent adoption.

Common Mistakes

We adopted the kitten for two weeks.
We fostered the kitten for two weeks.
'adopt' means permanent ownership; 'foster' means looking after someone temporarily.
She fostered her own baby.
She cared for her own baby.
'foster' is only used when the child is not your own.

2. to help something develop or grow over time, such as a skill, feeling, relations

2.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to help something develop or grow over time, such as a skill, feeling, relationship, or idea.

Example

The school's music programme helped foster a love of singing in young students.

foster + abstract noun phrase (love of singing)

Regular team meetings can foster better communication between different departments.

Common collocations
  • foster a sense of
  • foster development
  • foster a relationship
  • foster cooperation
  • foster creativity
  • foster growth
Synonyms
  • encourage

    more general and less formal; can apply to both people and qualities

  • cultivate

    implies deliberate, sustained effort; can also refer to plants

  • nurture

    warmer, more emotional tone — often used for talents and relationships

  • promote

    more formal; can mean actively campaigning for something

Antonyms
  • stifle

    to stop something from developing

  • discourage

    to make someone less likely to do something

Grammar Patterns

foster + noun phrase (abstract concept such as relationship, development, understanding)

Usage Note

The object is almost always an abstract noun — feelings, attitudes, skills, or relationships. It is rarely used with concrete nouns such as 'a business' or 'a plant'. Compare with 'cultivate', which can be used for plants as well as abstract qualities.

Common Mistakes

The farmer fostered the crops in the field.
The farmer cultivated the crops in the field.
'foster' is not used for growing plants or raising livestock.

foster — adjective

foster — noun

Word family

  • fosterer
    nounC1
  • fosterage
    nounC2
  • fostering
    nounB2
  • fostering
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/2

All four verbs describe helping something develop, but they differ in tone and scope. 'Encourage' is the most general — you can encourage a child, a habit, or an idea. 'Cultivate' implies deliberate, sustained effort over time, often with a hint of careful tending, as in cultivating a skill or a friendship. 'Nurture' carries a warmer, more emotional tone, focusing on care and protection — you nurture a talent or a relationship with affection. 'Foster', like cultivate, refers to helping something develop, but it is slightly more formal and often used in institutional or social contexts — for example, fostering cooperation between groups or fostering economic growth. While you can encourage someone to try harder, you would not usually foster them. Use 'encourage' for direct personal support, 'nurture' for tender development, 'cultivate' for deliberate effort, and 'foster' for broader, more abstract development in formal settings.

encourage ↗cultivate ↗nurture ↗promote ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • foster care
  • foster home
  • foster family
  • foster parent
  • foster child

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

The word 'foster' comes from Old English 'fōstrian', meaning 'to nourish or bring up', which is related to 'fōstor' (food, nourishment). This root goes back to the Proto-Germanic 'fōstra-' (food). The original sense had to do with feeding and physical care. By the 17th century, the meaning had broadened from feeding a child to raising one who is not your own. From this came the modern verb use meaning 'to encourage the development of something' — first recorded in the 1600s. The adjective use ('foster parent', 'foster child') emerged from the same nourishing tradition.