foster

Universal Words verb, adjective verb 1 [VN] (written) to encourage sth to develop: The club's aim is to foster better relations within the community. 2 (especially BrE) to take another person's child into your home for a period of time, without becoming his or her legal parents: [VN] They have fostered over 60 children during the past ten years. * [V] We couldn't adopt a child, so we decided to foster. compareADOPT adjective [onlybeforenoun] used with some nouns in connection with the fostering of a child: a foster mother / father / family * foster parents * a foster child * a foster home * foster care