foster care

noun

: a situation in which for a period of time a child lives with and is cared for by a foster parent
children placed in foster care

Examples of foster care in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Wednesday's Child has helped find homes for hundreds of waiting children and continues to raise awareness about adoption from foster care. Wbz-News Staff, CBS News, 20 May 2026 Thrust alone into the foster care system. Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026 The mother had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, prompting her children to be placed into foster care previously, the FBI previously said in a news release. Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 16 May 2026 Mary’s early life was marked by instability, having entered the foster care system because of parental neglect and substance abuse, McClelland tells PEOPLE. Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 15 May 2026 How foster care failed my aunts and uncles. Literary Hub, 14 May 2026 Hill’s new plan will also reinstate four Department of Social Services liaisons that work to help the district’s students currently in foster care. Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 13 May 2026 What this means, in the short term, is that Silvia and Guojun’s twenty-plus kids will remain in foster care until they are placed into guardianships or adopted, probably by their foster families. Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 11 May 2026 Her dissertation is on improving foster care outcomes for Black children in Northeast Ohio. Tina Sturdevant, New York Times, 10 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of foster care was in 1899

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Foster care.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foster%20care. Accessed 26 May. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster