wet-nursed; wet-nursing; wet-nurses
1
: to care for and breastfeed (another woman's baby) : to act as wet nurse to
2
: to give constant and often excessive care to
: a woman who cares for and breastfeeds children not her own
Synonyms
Examples of wet-nurse in a Sentence
Verb
wet-nursed the woman's baby until she was well enough to do it herself
recent college grads quickly learn that employers won't wet-nurse them the way that their teachers did
Recent Examples on the Web
Nancy Tartaglione, Deadline, 19 Sep. 2024
In von Horn’s pic, set in post WW1 Copenhagen, the focal point is Karoline (Sonne), a young pregnant factory worker, who takes on the job of a wet-nurse for the charismatic Dagmar (Dyrholm) in order to escape poverty.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 19 May 2024
Zac Ntim, Deadline, 23 Nov. 2024
The children of the home were likely left to their own devices for days at a time — unlike the offspring of well-to-do city residents, who would have been cared for by wet nurses and tutors.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 29 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for wet-nurse 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
With nowhere else to turn, Karoline takes on the role of a wet-nurse.
—Nancy Tartaglione, Deadline, 19 Sep. 2024
In von Horn’s pic, set in post WW1 Copenhagen, the focal point is Karoline (Sonne), a young pregnant factory worker, who takes on the job of a wet-nurse for the charismatic Dagmar (Dyrholm) in order to escape poverty.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 19 May 2024
Noun
With nowhere else to turn, Karoline takes on the role of a wet nurse.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 23 Nov. 2024
The children of the home were likely left to their own devices for days at a time — unlike the offspring of well-to-do city residents, who would have been cared for by wet nurses and tutors.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 29 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for wet-nurse
Dictionary Entries Near wet-nurse
Cite this Entry
“Wet-nurse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wet-nurse. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share