day care

noun

variants or less commonly daycare

ˈdā-ˌker 

or day-care

1

: supervision of and care for children or physically or mentally disabled adults that is provided during the day by a person or organization

—often used before another noun

a day care center

day care workers

day-care facilities

2

: a program, facility, or organization offering day care

a child enrolled in day care

Examples of day care in a Sentence

She left work early to pick up her son from day care.

Recent Examples on the Web

Dann and her staff have led corporate team-building events, visited day care centers for art activities, and hosts birthday parties and showers of all kinds. — Emily M. Olson, Hartford Courant, 23 Sep. 2026

Governments use the cash to subsidize the cost of day care for low-income parents who are working, enrolled in school, or attending a training program. — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2026

There were also strong gains in prices of rental cars, vehicle maintenance, day care and preschool, nursing homes and in-home care. — Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2026

The day care has since implemented a system that cross-references the bus and classroom logs. — Doug Myers, CBS News, 9 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for day care

• abwehr
• affair
• affaire
• airfare
• altair
• armchair
• aware
• beware
• bugbear
• carfare
• childcare
• compare

Kids Definition

day care

noun

1

: supervision of and care for children or disabled adults that is provided during the day by a person or organization

2

: a program, facility, or organization offering day care