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

Officials said Yangsim Oum and Juyoung Choe were taken into custody at their adult day care center on Forest Avenue. — Lisa Rozner, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026

The president and vice president will appear in the Oval Office with conservative YouTube personality Nick Shirley, whose video series from Minnesota late last year led to fraud investigations of day care centers there that receive federal money. — Natalie Allison, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2026

Families spend about 9% to 16% of their median annual income on full-day care for just one child, and in some cases that cost exceeds their annual rent, according to a 2024 Labor Department report. — Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026

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

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