foster parent

noun

plural foster parents

1

: a person temporarily serving as a parent for a child who has lost or been removed from a parent's care and who is not the person's own biological child

specifically, US : such a person who has been trained and approved by a government or social-service agency

Many foster parents … continue to act selflessly as important way stations for at-risk kids while their biological parents get their lives together.

—Timothy Roche

Foster parents adopt children in Ventura County [California] more often than relatives do.

—Stephanie Hoops

2

a

: a person temporarily caring for an animal (such as one that is injured or awaiting adoption)

The 36-year-old Owosso [Michigan] native became a foster parent to dogs through the shelter five years ago.

—Anamaria Dickerson

b

: an animal caring for an unrelated offspring

Cowbirds deposit their eggs in the nests of other birds, and unknowing foster parents raise baby cowbirds along with their own young.

—The Tuscaloosa (Alabama) News

Tom hoped the little eaglet could be placed into an active nest, adopted and raised by wild foster parents, and could ultimately fly free.

—Massachusetts Wildlife

Examples of foster parent in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Emma Patterson is one of the longest-serving foster parents in her county. —Abby Cruz, ABC News, 15 June 2024

Some states have such a shortage of foster parents that kids in need are sometimes sleeping in social workers’ offices, at motels or even in juvenile detention centers. —Emily Wax-Thibodeaux, Washington Post, 14 June 2024

Encouraging these types of adoptions is a growing movement both in Connecticut and nationally to help maintain relationships between adoptive or foster parents and biological parents. —Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 16 Feb. 2024

The Mayes are believed to have been his foster parents since May 2023. —Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 16 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1649, in the meaning defined at sense 1