foster mother
14
3.0
- noun
- /ˈfɔstər ˈmʌðər/
:
madre de acogida
- When foster mothers were asked how they thought the state viewed them, most women responded negatively.
So let me read a text sent to me by her foster mother who was aware of the prank and everything and aware of the backlash.
- So let me read a text sent to me by her foster mother who was aware of the prank and everything and aware of the backlash.
Examples
-
After her parents' divorce, she moved in with her foster mother who provided a stable home.
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My second foster mother was a natural with her love and humor.
Fiction book (1990) -
Did l ever tell you about that foster mother l had?
-
My foster mother, she started this restaurant, and I guess I always just wanted to make her proud.
-
She'll be a great foster mother, your honor.
-
The foster mothers complain about the social workers' treatment of them and the lack of trust.
Academic text (2008) -
Madea is her new foster mother.
-
You're her new foster mother.
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Since I last wrote to you... my wife Helen, your foster mother... passed away very suddenly from a blood clot in her brain.
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The foster mother felt he needed counseling and modifications in class, and time out.
Academic text (2010)
Synonyms
42
3.2
A person who cares for a child instead of the child's parents without adopting them
3
3.2
A woman who cares for and guides someone like a parent
2
4.3
A woman who cares for someone like a mother, often with or instead of their own mother
A woman who raises another woman's child as her own
A person who gives a temporary home to a child or animal
How Parental
50
3.6
28
3.2
14
3.0
- US
79
3.2
234
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'foster' denotes a non‑biological caregiving/placement relationship and 'mother' denotes a female parent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer a woman who raises a child who is not her biological offspring. This construction and its logic are cross‑linguistically common, so the sense is immediately recoverable from the parts.
Etymology
Foster mother comes from an old word foster that meant 'to feed' or 'to bring up' a child, so the image is of a woman who looks after and raises a child. So a foster mother now means a woman who cares for a child who is not her own.