Phrase guide

foster mother

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A female adult who cares for a child who has been placed in foster care.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a woman who is a foster parent and raises another's child

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: foster-mother

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: foster-parent, foster parent

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

31 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: mendeshë — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Chinese Mandarin: 養母 /养母 (yǎngmǔ) — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Dutch: pleegmoeder — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Esperanto: nutropatrino — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • French: mère adoptive — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • German: Pflegemutter — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • German: Ziehmutter — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • German: Nährmutter — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Greek: μητριά (mitriá) — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Greek: ψυχομάνα (psychomána) — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Hungarian: nevelőanya — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Hungarian: fogadott anya — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Irish: buime — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Irish: máthair altrama — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Italian: vicemadre — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Japanese: 養母 (yōbo) — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Jeju: 수양어멍 (suyang'eomeong) — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Korean: 수양어머니 (suyang'eomeoni) — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Latin: altrix — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Māori: whaea whāngai — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Old English: offēstre — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Portuguese: mãe de acolhimento — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Russian: приёмная мать (prijómnaja matʹ) — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Sicilian: mammana — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Spanish: pupilera — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Spanish: madre de acogimiento — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Spanish: madre adoptiva temporánea — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Spanish: madre de adopción temporánea — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Swedish: fostermor — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Tagalog: ina-inahan — adult female who cares for a foster child
  • Volapük: jikälan — adult female who cares for a foster child