1. a person who acts as parent and guardian for a child in place of the child's natural parents but without legally adopting the child; [syn: foster-parent, foster parent]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
foster-parent
n 1: a person who acts as parent and guardian for a child in
place of the child's natural parents but without legally
adopting the child [syn: foster-parent, foster parent]