Foster has 10 different meanings across 4 categories:
Noun · Verb · Adjective · Proper Noun
United States songwriter whose songs embody the sentiment of the South before the American Civil War (1826-1864)
"The melody of Foster's gentle ballads captured a longing for home that resonated deeply across the pre-Civil War South."
A foster parent.
"The local government hired a skilled foster to plant thousands of new trees across the damaged watershed."
A forester.
In plain English: A foster is a person who takes care of another child temporarily because their own parents cannot look after them.
"The school's foster program helped many children find loving families."
Usage: The noun form of "foster" refers to an old-fashioned term for a forester or someone who manages timberlands. In modern English, this usage is extremely rare and should be avoided in favor of the more common verb meaning to nurture or support growth.
bring up under fosterage; of children
"The local agency works hard to find loving families who can foster children until they are adopted or reunified with their birth parents."
To nurture or bring up offspring, or to provide similar parental care to an unrelated child.
"After his biological parents passed away, the couple decided to foster a young boy from the local shelter and raise him as their own."
In plain English: To foster means to help something grow or develop by giving it care and attention.
"The family decided to foster a young puppy until she found a permanent home."
Usage: Use foster to describe nurturing or raising a child who does not belong to you by legal adoption. It specifically implies providing a supportive home environment rather than just temporarily housing someone.
Providing parental care to children not related to oneself.
"After adopting a child from the orphanage, Sarah decided to foster two more siblings who needed a stable home before they could be permanently placed."
In plain English: Foster means to encourage or help something grow, like fostering creativity or a positive attitude.
"The foster father never hesitated to help his son with homework."
Usage: Do not use "foster" as an adjective to describe the act of raising unrelated children; instead, it functions only as a verb in that sense. When used adjectivally, the word strictly means promoting growth or development, such as in phrases like "foster care" (which is a noun phrase) or "faster growth."
An English surname, from occupations, variant of Forster.
"The local history group is holding a meeting to discuss the Foster family's long-standing legacy in the village."
The word "foster" comes from the Old English fōstor, which originally meant food or sustenance. Over time, its meaning shifted in Middle English to describe someone who provides care and nourishment for a child rather than their biological parent.