foster care

noun

: a situation in which for a period of time a child lives with and is cared for by a foster parent
children placed in foster care

Examples of foster care in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
After a fire burns down the family’s home and turns their lives upside down, her children are placed in foster care. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 3 July 2026 The process to adopt a child from foster care includes training, interviews, and home visits to determine if adoption is right for you. — Mare Staff, Boston Herald, 5 July 2026 For example, our local children’s hospital only accepts new items, but foster care services may welcome gently used art supplies, toys, games, and clothing to help kids and parents adjust to a new living situation. — Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 1 July 2026 She was placed in foster care, the Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office told CNN Tuesday. — Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN Money, 30 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for foster care

Word History

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of foster care was in 1899

Rhymes for foster care

See All Rhymes for foster care

Browse Nearby Words

fosterage
foster care
Foster City
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Foster care.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foster%20care. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All