Foster
verb/adjectiveBase foster · Past fostered · Past Participle fostered · Present Participle fostering · 3rd person fosters
Definition
1. (verb) To encourage or help something to develop and grow over time — used for ideas, relationships, skills, or attitudes.
2. (verb/adjective) To take care of a child temporarily in your own home without being their legal parent — a formal arrangement through social services.
2. (verb/adjective) To take care of a child temporarily in your own home without being their legal parent — a formal arrangement through social services.
Context Alive
Your school gets a new headteacher and within a year, everything changes. She introduces weekly assemblies where students share their achievements, creates mentoring programmes between older and younger kids, and opens a room where anyone can go to talk when they're struggling. A parent at a meeting says: "She's managed to foster a real sense of community here — my son actually looks forward to going to school now." The room nods in agreement.
Meanings
2 meanings 1 To Encourage Something to Develop (Verb) Very Common ▼
This meaning is about helping something grow or develop — not by forcing it, but by creating the right conditions. Imagine a company that wants more creative ideas from its employees. Instead of just telling people to be creative, they give teams time to experiment, allow failure without punishment, and celebrate new ideas. They're fostering creativity. This is describing a careful, nurturing kind of encouragement — like a gardener creating the right conditions for a plant to grow. You might hear "the programme fosters collaboration between students" about a school project designed to get kids working together, or someone could say "we need to foster a culture of openness" about a workplace where people are afraid to speak up. Or think about a coach who fosters confidence in young athletes by focusing on what they do well rather than criticising mistakes. The word suggests patient, deliberate nurturing over time.
✏️ Foster is more deliberate and intentional than "encourage." Saying "we encourage teamwork" is general, but "we foster teamwork" implies you've created specific conditions for it to grow. It's a favourite word in education, business, and policy: foster growth, foster innovation, foster relationships, foster a sense of belonging. The word carries warmth — it's about nurturing, not pushing.
2 To Care for a Child Temporarily (Verb/Adjective) Common ▼
This meaning is about looking after someone else's child in your own home — usually arranged by social services when the child's parents can't care for them. Imagine a couple who opens their home to a seven-year-old boy whose mother is in hospital for a long time. They feed him, take him to school, help with homework, and make him feel safe. They're fostering him — caring for him temporarily until his mother recovers. This is describing a formal, temporary arrangement where a child lives with a family that isn't their biological one. You might hear "they fostered three children over the years" about a family that regularly took in kids who needed a safe home, or someone could say "she grew up in foster care" about a person who was raised by different foster families rather than their birth parents. The word suggests care, protection, and a temporary arrangement.
✏️ A foster family (or foster parents) takes in a child temporarily. A foster child is the child being cared for. Foster care is the whole system. This is different from adoption — adoption is permanent and legal, fostering is temporary. Some children move between several foster homes, which is why "the foster system" is a common topic in social discussions.
Common Patterns
Basic Structures
foster + noun (abstract) → to encourage something to develop — creativity, trust, growth, etc.
Good leadership fosters trust and open communication within a team.
foster a sense of + noun → to help develop a particular feeling or atmosphere
The event was designed to foster a sense of community among new residents.
foster a child → to temporarily care for a child in your home
They decided to foster a teenager who had been in care since the age of five.
Common Structures
foster + noun + between/among → encouraging something between specific groups
The programme fosters collaboration between schools and local businesses.
foster care / foster home / foster family → the system, place, or people involved in temporary child care
He spent most of his childhood moving between foster homes.
an environment that fosters → a setting designed to encourage development
We want to create an environment that fosters independent thinking.
Collocations
10 collocationsfoster growth
to create conditions for development and expansion
foster creativity
to encourage imaginative thinking and new ideas
foster innovation
to help new ideas and methods develop
foster trust
to nurture confidence and reliability between people
foster a sense of community
to help people feel connected and part of a group
foster collaboration
to encourage people or groups to work together
foster care
the system of temporary child care by non-biological families
foster family
a family that temporarily cares for someone else's child
foster child
a child being cared for by a foster family
foster a relationship
to develop and nurture a connection with someone
Example Sentences
10 examples
1
The school's approach fosters independence — students learn to solve problems on their own.
The school's method encourages self-reliance — kids are taught to figure things out by themselves.
2
They fostered two children while their mother recovered from a serious illness.
They cared for two kids in their home while the children's mother was getting better.
3
A good manager fosters an environment where people aren't afraid to make mistakes.
An effective manager creates a workplace where staff feel safe to get things wrong sometimes.
4
The programme was set up to foster stronger links between universities and industry.
The initiative was created to build closer connections between academic institutions and businesses.
5
She grew up in foster care and was moved between six different families before she turned 16.
She was raised in the care system and lived with six separate families before her sixteenth birthday.
6
Music education fosters discipline, teamwork, and emotional expression in children.
Teaching kids music helps them develop self-control, the ability to work with others, and a way to express feelings.
7
The company fosters innovation by giving employees 20% of their time for personal projects.
The company encourages new ideas by allowing staff to spend a fifth of their work time on their own projects.
8
Becoming a foster parent changed their lives — they've cared for over a dozen children.
Taking in children transformed their lives — they've looked after more than twelve kids over the years.
9
Travel fosters understanding between cultures in a way that books alone never can.
Visiting other countries builds cross-cultural understanding in a way that reading simply can't match.
10
The workshop is designed to foster a sense of belonging among new employees.
The session aims to help new staff feel welcome and part of the team from day one.
Synonyms & Antonyms
6 items
Synonymsencourage
more general and everyday — doesn't carry the same nurturing, deliberate tone
nurture
very close — emphasises care and gentle support for growth
cultivate
similar but slightly more formal — implies careful, strategic development
Antonymsdiscourage
the direct opposite — to prevent or reduce someone's motivation to develop
stifle
to suppress or block growth — the opposite of creating conditions for development
neglect
to fail to care for or develop something — the opposite of fostering