nourish

verb

nour·​ish ˈnər-ish 

ˈnə-rish

nourished; nourishing; nourishes

transitive verb

1

: nurture, rear

… to save my boy, to nourish and bring him up …

—Shakespeare

2

: to promote the growth of

… no occasions to exercise the feelings nor nourish passion.

—L. O. Coxe

nourished soccer as a sport in this country

needed to nourish his spiritual life

3

a

: to furnish or sustain with nutriment : feed

Plants are nourished by rain and soil.

b

: maintain, support

Their profits … nourish other criminal activities.

—Beverly Smith

nourisher noun

Synonyms of nourish

• promote
• cultivate
• encourage
• nurture
• foster

Examples of nourish in a Sentence

Vitamins are added to the shampoo to nourish the hair.

a friendship nourished by trust

Recent Examples on the Web

Those fungi form symbiotic relationships with plant and tree roots, helping the roots collect water and nutrients from the soil to nourish the plants above. — Manjot Kaur Sidhu, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026

The treatments also lowered the production of inflammatory signals that cause long-term swelling, and stimulated new blood vessel formation to nourish healing skin. — Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2026

All three have known anti-inflammatory properties that help nourish while hydrating. — Sarah Y. Wu, Glamour, 7 Oct. 2026

The JuicePop Box Lip Tint trades some of that high-gloss shine for more noticeable pigment, while still keeping lips nourished with ceramides and peptides. — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 6 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English nurishen, from Anglo-French nuriss-, stem of nurrir, norrir, from Latin nutrire to suckle, nourish; akin to Greek nan to flow, noteros damp, Sanskrit snauti it drips

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for nourish

• flourish

Kids Definition

nourish

verb

nour·​ish ˈnər-ish 

ˈnə-rish

1

: to promote the growth or development of

2

a

: to provide with food : feed

plants nourished by rain and soil

b

: to provide for : support, maintain

a friendship nourished by trust

Medical Definition

nourish

transitive verb

nour·​ish ˈnər-ish, ˈnə-rish 

: to furnish or sustain with nutriment : feed