foster home

[faw-ster hohm, fos-ter] / ˈfɔ stər ˈhoʊm, ˈfɒs tər /

NOUN

household caring for orphaned or troubled child

Synonyms

WEAK

halfway house safe harbor safe house

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The state placed her in an “affirming” foster home, where she shares a bedroom with a teenage boy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

I grew up in a foster home in the San Fernando Valley.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2025

The stigma stayed with PJ his whole life, even after finding a loving foster home and, in later years, tracking down his birth mother, who was separated from him when he was a one-year-old.

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2025

Paula's baby stayed in a foster home for a few weeks before he was taken to his adoptive family.

From BBC • Jul. 21, 2024

“It’s his fifth foster home, which isn’t that bad actually. We had one kid who’d been in twelve.”

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko