day care

noun

variants or less commonly daycare

ˈdā-ˌker 

or day-care

1

: supervision of and care for children or physically or mentally disabled adults that is provided during the day by a person or organization

—often used before another noun

a day care center

day care workers

day-care facilities

2

: a program, facility, or organization offering day care

a child enrolled in day care

Examples of day care in a Sentence

She left work early to pick up her son from day care.

Recent Examples on the Web

Results from that test also detected Legionella at nine testing points, six of which were in the day care portion of the building. —A.d. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 19 Feb. 2025

Castillo-Ruiz lived in the home where the day care operated, police said. —Paloma Chavez, Sacramento Bee, 18 Feb. 2025

Nicole Miller, like Marnay, said her son will not be returning to the day care. —Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 10 Feb. 2025

The Capitol leaks money, feeding fake children, fake autism centers, fake day care centers, fake loophole-loving addiction treatment centers, fake Medicaid payments. —Joe Soucheray, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for day care

• abwehr
• affair
• affaire
• airfare
• altair
• armchair
• aware
• beware
• bugbear
• carfare
• childcare
• compare

Kids Definition

day care

noun

1

: supervision of and care for children or disabled adults that is provided during the day by a person or organization

2

: a program, facility, or organization offering day care