wet nurse

See synonyms for wet nurse on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a woman hired to suckle another's infant.

Origin of wet nurse

1
First recorded in 1610–20

Other definitions for wet-nurse (2 of 2)

wet-nurse
[ wet-nurs ]

verb (used with object),wet-nursed, wet-nurs·ing.
  1. to act as a wet nurse to (an infant).

  2. to give excessive care or attention to; treat as if helpless: The warden is accused of wet-nursing his prisoners.

Origin of wet-nurse

2
First recorded in 1775–85

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use wet nurse in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wet nurse

wet nurse

noun
  1. a woman hired to suckle the child of another

verbwet-nurse (tr)
  1. to act as a wet nurse to (a child)

  2. informal to attend with great devotion

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