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Pronunciation Guide
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

foster

/ˈfɑstɚ/

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What does foster mean?

adjective

  1. Providing parental care to children not related to oneself.
  2. Receiving such care.
  3. Related by such care.
More meanings (24)

noun

  1. (informal) A foster parent.
  2. The care given to another; guardianship.
  3. (obsolete) A forester.

verb

  1. To nurture or bring up offspring, or to provide similar parental care to an unrelated child.
  2. To promote the development of something; to cultivate and grow a thing.
  3. To nurse or cherish something.
  4. (obsolete) To be nurtured or trained up together.

proper noun

  1. An English surname originating as an occupation, variant of Forster.
  2. A male given name transferred from the surname.
  3. A former settlement in San Diego County, California.
  4. An unincorporated community in Warren County, Indiana.
  5. An unincorporated community in Bracken County, Kentucky.
  6. A township and unincorporated community therein, in Big Stone County, Minnesota.
  7. A village in Bates County, Missouri; named for Ohio governor Charles Foster.
  8. A village in Pierce County, Nebraska; named for George Foster, original owner of town's site.
  9. A town in Garvin County, Oklahoma.
  10. An unincorporated community partly in Sweet Home, Linn County, Oregon.
  11. A town in Providence County, Rhode Island; named for Rhode Island statesman Theodore Foster.
  12. A town in Clark County, Wisconsin.
  13. An unincorporated community in the town of Clear Creek, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin.
  14. A number of other townships, including in Illinois (2), Michigan, Minnesota (1 more), Pennsylvania (3), and South Dakota, listed under Foster Township.
  15. A village in the town of Brome Lake, Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality, southern Quebec, Canada.
  16. A town in South Gippsland Shire, south-east Victoria, Australia.
  17. Ellipsis of Foster County.
Wiktionary contributors Wiktionary contributors

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈfɑstɚ/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Hence he does not strive to ally himself with all and sundry, nor does he foster the power of other states.
active 6th century B.C. SunziThe Art of WarTranslated by Lionel GilesProject Gutenberg ebook #132
He had formed a plot with the foster mother to put Annie out of the way and to divide the money.
William Healy; Mary Tenney HealyPathology of Lying, Accusation, and Swindling: A Study in Forensic PsychologyProject Gutenberg ebook #449
More book examples (3)
Instead of rushing eagerly None so sorrowful as they to cherish us and foster us, They all prefer this melancholy literary man.
Arthur Sullivan; W. S. (William Schwenck) GilbertThe Complete Plays of Gilbert and SullivanProject Gutenberg ebook #808
Previous to this discovery, Mr. Foster had recorded the finding in this same formation, distant but a few miles, a rude hatchet.
Emory Adams AllenThe Prehistoric World; Or, Vanished RacesProject Gutenberg ebook #2873
American women seem also to have a curious power of attracting to themselves other women who admire them and foster their self-esteem.
E. V. (Edward Verrall) LucasRoving East and Roving WestProject Gutenberg ebook #7237