Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

fos·ter       (fô'stər, fŏs'tər)  Pronunciation Key  tr.v.   fos·tered, fos·ter·ing, fos·ters To bring up; nurture: bear and foster offspring. See Synonyms at nurture. To promote the growth and development of; cultivate: detect and foster artistic talent. See Synonyms at advance. To nurse; cherish: foster a secret hope. adj.   Providing parental care and nurture to children not related through legal or blood ties: foster parents; foster grandparents; a foster home. Receiving parental care and nurture from those not related to one through legal or blood ties: foster children. [Middle English fostren, from Old English *fōstrian, to nourish, from fōstor, food, nourishing; see pā- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Fos·ter       (fô'stər, fŏs'tər)  Pronunciation Key  American songwriter whose popular works, such as "Oh! Susannah" (1848) and "Old Folks at Home" (1851), reflect the sentiment of pre-Civil War America.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
foster  (v.)

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

foster
adjective
1.	providing or receiving nurture or parental care though not related by blood or legal ties; "foster parent"; "foster child"; "foster home"; "surrogate father"
noun
1.	United States songwriter whose songs embody the sentiment of the South before the American Civil War (1826-1864)
verb
1.	promote the growth of; "Foster our children's well-being and education"
2.	bring up under fosterage; of children
3.	help develop, help grow; "nurture his talents"

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: fos·ter
Function: adjective
: affording, receiving, or sharing nurture or parental care though not related by blood or legal relationships <afoster child> <a foster parent>

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: fos·ter
Function: adjective
: affording, receiving, or sharing nurture or parental care though not related by blood or legal relationships <afoster child> <a foster parent>

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: foster
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: fos·tered; fos·ter·ing
: to give parental care to

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: foster
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: fos·tered; fos·ter·ing
: to give parental care to

U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Foster City, CA (city, FIPS 25338) Location: 37.56381 N, 122.24467 W
Population (1990): 28176 (11747 housing units)
Area: 9.7 sq km (land), 41.9 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 94404

Foster City, MI Zip code(s): 49834

Foster Falls, VA Zip code(s): 24360

Foster County, ND (county, FIPS 31) Location: 47.45977 N, 98.88531 W
Population (1990): 3983 (1876 housing units)
Area: 1645.3 sq km (land), 29.8 sq km (water)

Foster, RI Zip code(s): 02825

Foster, OR Zip code(s): 97345

Foster, OK Zip code(s): 73039

Foster, NE (village, FIPS 17320) Location: 42.27368 N, 97.66502 W
Population (1990): 57 (32 housing units)
Area: 0.6 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 68737

Foster, MO (town, FIPS 25372) Location: 38.16670 N, 94.50798 W
Population (1990): 161 (68 housing units)
Area: 1.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 64745

Foster, KY (city, FIPS 28630) Location: 38.79977 N, 84.21387 W
Population (1990): 65 (34 housing units)
Area: 0.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 41043

Foster, WV Zip code(s): 25081

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Foster

Food\, n. [OE. fode, AS. f[=o]da; akin to Icel. f[ae][eth]a, f[ae][eth]i, Sw. f["o]da, Dan. & LG. f["o]de, OHG. fatunga, Gr. patei^sthai to eat, and perh. to Skr. p[=a] to protect, L. pascere to feed, pasture, pabulum food, E. pasture. [root]75. Cf. Feed, Fodder food, Foster to cherish.]

1. What is fed upon; that which goes to support life by being received within, and assimilated by, the organism of an animal or a plant; nutriment; aliment; especially, what is eaten by animals for nourishment.

Note: In a physiological sense, true aliment is to be distinguished as that portion of the food which is capable of being digested and absorbed into the blood, thus furnishing nourishment, in distinction from the indigestible matter which passes out through the alimentary canal as f[ae]ces.

Note: Foods are divided into two main groups: nitrogenous, or proteid, foods, i.e., those which contain nitrogen, and nonnitrogenous, i.e., those which do not contain nitrogen. The latter group embraces the fats and carbohydrates, which collectively are sometimes termed heat producers or respiratory foods, since by oxidation in the body they especially subserve the production of heat. The proteids, on the other hand, are known as plastic foods or tissue formers, since no tissue can be formed without them. These latter terms, however, are misleading, since proteid foods may also give rise to heat both directly and indirectly, and the fats and carbohydrates are useful in other ways than in producing heat.

2. Anything that instructs the intellect, excites the feelings, or molds habits of character; that which nourishes.

This may prove food to my displeasure. --Shak.

In this moment there is life and food For future years. --Wordsworth.

Note: Food is often used adjectively or in self-explaining compounds, as in food fish or food-fish, food supply.

Food vacuole (Zo["o]l.), one of the spaces in the interior of a protozoan in which food is contained, during digestion.

Food yolk. (Biol.) See under Yolk.

Syn: Aliment; sustenance; nutriment; feed; fare; victuals; provisions; meat.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Foster

Fos"ter\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fostered, p. pr. & vb. n. Fostering.] [OE. fostren, fr. AS. f[=o]ster, f[=o]stor, food, nourishment, fr. f[=o]da food. [root]75. See Food.]

1. To feed; to nourish; to support; to bring up.

Some say that ravens foster forlorn children. --Shak.

2. To cherish; to promote the growth of; to encourage; to sustain and promote; as, to foster genius.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Foster

Fos"ter\, v. i. To be nourished or trained up together. [Obs.] --Spenser.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Foster

Fos"ter\, a. [AS. f[=o]ster, f[=o]stor, nourishment. See Foster, v. t.] Relating to nourishment; affording, receiving, or sharing nourishment or nurture; -- applied to father, mother, child, brother, etc., to indicate that the person so called stands in the relation of parent, child, brother, etc., as regards sustenance and nurture, but not by tie of blood.

Foster babe, or child, an infant of child nursed by a woman not its mother, or bred by a man not its father.

Foster brother, Foster sister, one who is, or has been, nursed at the same breast, or brought up by the same nurse as another, but is not of the same parentage.

Foster dam, one who takes the place of a mother; a nurse. --Dryden.

Foster earth, earth by which a plant is nourished, though not its native soil. --J. Philips.

{ Foster father}, a man who takes the place of a father in caring for a child. --Bacon.

Foster land. (a) Land allotted for the maintenance of any one. [Obs.] (b) One's adopted country.

Foster lean [foster + AS. l[ae]n a loan See Loan.], remuneration fixed for the rearing of a foster child; also, the jointure of a wife. [Obs.] --Wharton.

Foster mother, a woman who takes a mother's place in the nurture and care of a child; a nurse.

Foster nurse, a nurse; a nourisher. [R.] --Shak.

Foster parent, a foster mother or foster father.

Foster son, a male foster child.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Foster

Fos"ter\, a. [AS. f[=o]ster, f[=o]stor, nourishment. See Foster, v. t.] Relating to nourishment; affording, receiving, or sharing nourishment or nurture; -- applied to father, mother, child, brother, etc., to indicate that the person so called stands in the relation of parent, child, brother, etc., as regards sustenance and nurture, but not by tie of blood.

Foster babe, or child, an infant of child nursed by a woman not its mother, or bred by a man not its father.

Foster brother, Foster sister, one who is, or has been, nursed at the same breast, or brought up by the same nurse as another, but is not of the same parentage.

Foster dam, one who takes the place of a mother; a nurse. --Dryden.

Foster earth, earth by which a plant is nourished, though not its native soil. --J. Philips.

{ Foster father}, a man who takes the place of a father in caring for a child. --Bacon.

Foster land. (a) Land allotted for the maintenance of any one. [Obs.] (b) One's adopted country.

Foster lean [foster + AS. l[ae]n a loan See Loan.], remuneration fixed for the rearing of a foster child; also, the jointure of a wife. [Obs.] --Wharton.

Foster mother, a woman who takes a mother's place in the nurture and care of a child; a nurse.

Foster nurse, a nurse; a nourisher. [R.] --Shak.

Foster parent, a foster mother or foster father.

Foster son, a male foster child.

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FOSTER

FOSTER: in Acronym Finder

On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

foster

foster: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary