day care
noun
variants
or less commonly daycare
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
The Police Department's goal is to open its day care center by the fall of 2024.
—
Dana Rieck The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (tns), arkansasonline.com, 27 Dec. 2023
Many dogs may have lower resistance to infections because pandemic-era restrictions kept them out of day cares or boarding facilities and they weren’t exposed to circulating viruses or bacteria, experts note.
—Linda Carroll, NBC News, 3 Dec. 2023
In one case, between November 2022 and February 2023, a measles outbreak swept across several schools and day cares in central Ohio, infecting 85 children, 80 of whom were unvaccinated.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 17 Nov. 2023
Families can request seats for their children at up to 12 sites, in public schools, child care care centers, day cares run out of private homes or community organizations that have received funding to offer the program.
—Eliza Shapiro, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2023
My bestie Emma used to pick him up from day care on Mondays and Fridays and take him to the park for a few hours.
—Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2023
In addition, in very spread-out areas, aides and day care transportation drivers have to travel farther to reach their clients, so agencies’ travel costs — and customers’ mileage fees — are higher.
—Chris Alcantara, Washington Post, 5 Dec. 2023
In Maine, a new model for expanding day care options is offering one solution to America’s child care need.
—Alfredo Sosa, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Nov. 2023
Unlimited of Prosperity day care employees Ericka Jones, 27, and Serena Caldwell, 56, turned themselves in to authorities on Thursday after warrants were issued for their arrest, per the Newberry County Sheriff's Office.
—Christina Coulter, Fox News, 11 Nov. 2023
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Dana Rieck The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (tns), arkansasonline.com, 27 Dec. 2023
Many dogs may have lower resistance to infections because pandemic-era restrictions kept them out of day cares or boarding facilities and they weren’t exposed to circulating viruses or bacteria, experts note.
—Linda Carroll, NBC News, 3 Dec. 2023
In one case, between November 2022 and February 2023, a measles outbreak swept across several schools and day cares in central Ohio, infecting 85 children, 80 of whom were unvaccinated.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 17 Nov. 2023
Families can request seats for their children at up to 12 sites, in public schools, child care care centers, day cares run out of private homes or community organizations that have received funding to offer the program.
—Eliza Shapiro, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2023
My bestie Emma used to pick him up from day care on Mondays and Fridays and take him to the park for a few hours.
—Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2023
In addition, in very spread-out areas, aides and day care transportation drivers have to travel farther to reach their clients, so agencies’ travel costs — and customers’ mileage fees — are higher.
—Chris Alcantara, Washington Post, 5 Dec. 2023
In Maine, a new model for expanding day care options is offering one solution to America’s child care need.
—Alfredo Sosa, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Nov. 2023
Unlimited of Prosperity day care employees Ericka Jones, 27, and Serena Caldwell, 56, turned themselves in to authorities on Thursday after warrants were issued for their arrest, per the Newberry County Sheriff's Office.
—Christina Coulter, Fox News, 11 Nov. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'day care.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1898, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near day care
Cite this Entry
“Day care.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/day%20care. Accessed 9 Jan. 2024.
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Kids Definition
day care
noun1
: 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
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