nursing

nursing — adjective

1. describes a mother who gives her baby milk straight from her breast, instead of

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

describes a mother who gives her baby milk straight from her breast, instead of using a bottle.

Example

The hospital provides a quiet room where nursing mothers can feed their babies.

attributive use: nursing mother

A nursing mother needs to drink plenty of water and eat well every day.

Common collocations
  • nursing mother
  • nursing woman
  • nursing mom
Synonyms
  • breastfeeding

    the more common everyday term; 'nursing' sounds slightly more formal or medical

  • lactating

    clinical term used in medical contexts, less common in daily conversation

Antonyms
  • bottle-feeding

    describes feeding a baby with formula or expressed milk from a bottle

Grammar Patterns

nursing + noun

Usage Note

Attributive only — used directly before the noun it modifies ('a nursing mother'), never after a linking verb.

Common Mistakes

She is a nursing mother who works at the hospital' (implying she is a nurse, not breastfeeding).
She is a working mother who breastfeeds her baby.
'nursing mother' specifically refers to breastfeeding, not the profession.

nursing — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Nursing refers to the professional field of monitoring patients, administering treatments, and providing round-the-clock care — it implies formal training and a medical setting. Caregiving is much broader, covering any help given to someone who cannot care for themselves, whether a paid home aide or a family member; it does not require a medical degree. Midwifery is a specialised branch of nursing focused on pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum support. Physiotherapy (or physical therapy) is a separate healthcare profession that concentrates on restoring movement and function after injury or illness. A nursing degree qualifies you to work as a registered nurse in hospitals, while a caregiver role may not require formal qualifications at all.

nursing ↗caregivingmidwiferyphysiotherapy

Common collocations

Nouns

  • nursing career
  • nursing experience
  • nursing profession

Phrases

  • go into nursing
  • work in nursing

Prepositions

  • in nursing
  • into nursing

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word comes from Latin 'nutrire', meaning to nourish or feed. It passed into Old French as 'nourice' (a wet nurse) and then into Middle English as 'nurice'. Originally it described a woman who breastfed another woman's child. By the 1500s the meaning had broadened to include anyone who cares for the sick. The modern sense of 'nursing' as a trained medical profession grew in the 1800s, when formal hospital-based training programmes were established.