Definition of 'nurture'
Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense nurtures
, present participle nurturing
, past tense, past participle nurtured
1. verb
If you nurture something such as a young child or a young plant, you care for it while it is growing and developing.
[formal]
2. verb
[formal]
The University of Notre Dame has nurtured a number of top scholars who reject these
values. [VERB noun]
nurturing
uncountable noun
The decision to cut back on film-making had a catastrophic effect on the nurturing
of new talent. [+ of]
3. uncountable noun
Nurture is care that is given to someone while they are growing and developing.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
nurture
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
Word Frequency
nurture in British English
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
nurturable (ˈnurturable) adjective
nurturer (ˈnurturer)
noun
Word origin
C14: from Old French norriture, from Latin nutrīre to nourish
Word Frequency
nurture in American English
noun
1.
anything that nourishes; food; nutriment
2.
the act or process of raising or promoting the development of; training, educating, fostering, etc.
: also ˈnurturance3.
all the environmental factors, collectively, to which one is subjected from conception onward, as distinguished from one's nature or heredity
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈnurtured or ˈnurturing
4.
to feed or nourish
5.
a.
to promote the development of
b.
to raise by educating, training, etc.
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
nurturant (ˈnurturant)
adjective or ˈnurtural
nurturer (ˈnurturer)
noun
Word Frequency
nurture in American English
(ˈnɜːrtʃər) (verb -tured, -turing)
transitive verb
SYNONYMS 1, 3. See nurse.2.
to support and encourage, as during the period of training or development; foster
to nurture promising musicians
3.
to bring up; train; educate
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
nurturable adjective
nurtureless
adjective
nurturer
noun
Word origin
[1300–50; (n.) ME norture ‹ MF, var. of nourriture ‹ LL nūtrītūra a nourishing, equiv. to L nūtrīt(us) (ptp. of nūtrīre to feed, nourish) + -ūra -ure; (v.) deriv. of the n.]Examples of 'nurture' in a sentence
nurture
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nurture
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In other languages
nurture
British English: nurture
VERB /ˈnɜːtʃə/
If you nurture something such as a young child or a young plant, you care for it while it is growing and developing.
Parents want to know the best way to nurture and raise their child to adulthood.
Browse alphabetically
nurture
Related terms of
nurture
Source
Definition of nurture from the Collins English Dictionary
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