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

The teams have committed to spotlight foster care during games, hold community events and use social media platforms to push becoming a foster parent, the state said. —Brad Schmitt, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025

Bring Her Back follows step-siblings Andy (Billy Barratt) and Piper (Sora Wong), who are put under the care of foster parent Laura (Sally Hawkins) following the death of their father. —Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 16 May 2025

The girl confided to her foster parent that she had been abused numerous times by Boyd — but investigators unearthed the full extent of her horrific treatment in a series of interviews over weeks, court documents said. —Mitchell Willetts, Kansas City Star, 29 Apr. 2025

One night, the young boy took a piece of chicken from the foster parents’ school-age son. —Jayme Fraser, USA Today, 16 June 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