foster parent

noun

plural foster parents

1

: a person temporarily serving as a parent for a child who has lost or been removed from a parent's care and who is not the person's own biological child

specifically, US : such a person who has been trained and approved by a government or social-service agency

Many foster parents … continue to act selflessly as important way stations for at-risk kids while their biological parents get their lives together.

—Timothy Roche

Foster parents adopt children in Ventura County [California] more often than relatives do.

—Stephanie Hoops

2

a

: a person temporarily caring for an animal (such as one that is injured or awaiting adoption)

The 36-year-old Owosso [Michigan] native became a foster parent to dogs through the shelter five years ago.

—Anamaria Dickerson

b

: an animal caring for an unrelated offspring

Cowbirds deposit their eggs in the nests of other birds, and unknowing foster parents raise baby cowbirds along with their own young.

—The Tuscaloosa (Alabama) News

Tom hoped the little eaglet could be placed into an active nest, adopted and raised by wild foster parents, and could ultimately fly free.

—Massachusetts Wildlife

Examples of foster parent in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For those unfamiliar, what’s the process to become a foster parent? —Kansas City Star, 23 Sep. 2025

The shelter generally houses minors for days or weeks, until the children are returned home or placed into the care of foster parents. —Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Sep. 2025

Reform advocates told IndyStar that the case illustrates how foster parents are often given more leeway than biological families. —Marissa Meador, IndyStar, 19 Sep. 2025

The reports came from a school therapist at a local elementary school after a student’s foster parent told them Cordum had come to the home for an appointment and inserted something into the child’s rectum, according to a July 2024 news release by the state’s Department of Justice. —Paloma Chavez, Sacbee.com, 17 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1649, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for foster parent

• aberrant
• apparent
• declarant
• grandparent
• stepparent
• transparent
• errant
• semitransparent