nurture
/ˈnɜːɹ.t͡ʃəɹ/noun, verb
nurture is spelled N-U-R-T-U-R-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, nurture means “The act of nourishing or nursing; tender care” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nurture is nurtures.
How many letters and syllables are in nurture?
| Letters | 7: N-U-R-T-U-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.0 times per million words; the 19,336th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is nurture?
Nurture appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nurture?
- /ˈnɜːɹ.t͡ʃəɹ/
Nurture has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Mélange_a_trois-nurture.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of nurture
- nurtures plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- nurturing participle, present
- nurtured participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nurture mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of nourishing or nursing; tender care
- 2
That which nourishes; food; diet.
- 3
The environmental influences that contribute to a person’s development (as opposed to "nature").
- 4
The act or process of encouraging the growth or development of something.
verb
- 1
To nourish or nurse.
- 2
To encourage, especially the growth or development of something.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nurture in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | élever, éduquer , nourrir , favoriser, alimenter |
| German | Umsorgen, Umhegen, Päppeln , Erziehung, Pflege, Umwelteinflüsse |
| Spanish | crianza, criación , criar, nutrir , alimento |
| Portuguese | criação |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does nurture come from?
From Middle English norture, noriture, from Old French norriture, norreture, from Late Latin nutritura (“nourishment”), from Latin nutrire (“to nourish”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).