nourish

verb

nour·​ish ˈnər-ish 

ˈnə-rish

nourished; nourishing; nourishes

transitive verb

1

: nurture, rear

… to save my boy, to nourish and bring him up …

—Shakespeare

2

: to promote the growth of

no occasions to exercise the feelings nor nourish passion

—L. O. Coxe

nourished soccer as a sport in this country

needed to nourish his spiritual life

3

a

: to furnish or sustain with nutriment : feed

Plants are nourished by rain and soil.

b

: maintain, support

their profits … nourish other criminal activities

—Beverly Smith

nourisher noun

Synonyms

• advance
• cultivate
• encourage
• forward
• foster
• further
• incubate
• nurse
• nurture
• promote

Examples of nourish in a Sentence

Vitamins are added to the shampoo to nourish the hair.

a friendship nourished by trust

Recent Examples on the Web

In other parts of the deep ocean, surface nutrients sink to the seafloor and nourish the animals that live there. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2025

Enhance Elasticity Enhances elasticity by deeply nourishing the skin and stimulating collagen production, which helps improve firmness and resilience. —Sohaib Imtiaz, Verywell Health, 21 Mar. 2025

The Judeo-Christian tradition, which began with God's world-transforming revelation to the incipient Israelite nation at Mount Sinai, birthed Western civilization and has nourished it over the course of thousands of years. —Newsweek, 18 Mar. 2025

With a second-skin feel, the formula is infused with ingredients, such as black rose oil and hyaluronic acid, that nourish and hydrate mature skin. —Jenny Berg, Vogue, 18 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English nurishen, from Anglo-French nuriss-, stem of nurrir, norrir, from Latin nutrire to suckle, nourish; akin to Greek nan to flow, noteros damp, Sanskrit snauti it drips

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for nourish

• flourish

Kids Definition

nourish

verb

nour·​ish ˈnər-ish 

ˈnə-rish

1

: to promote the growth or development of

2

a

: to provide with food : feed

plants nourished by rain and soil

b

: to provide for : support, maintain

a friendship nourished by trust

Medical Definition

nourish

transitive verb

nour·​ish ˈnər-ish, ˈnə-rish 

: to furnish or sustain with nutriment : feed