day care

noun

variants or less commonly daycare
ˈdā-ˌker How to pronounce day care (audio)
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The man, 41, had lived at the home that housed the day care center with his wife, 41, and their daughter, 7, Johnson said in a second news conference in the afternoon. — Mike Snider, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2026 The first bump from the 2019 law came in 2020, when COVID made low-wage service workers in day care centers, food stores and other places essential in the governor’s view. — Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 5 Aug. 2026 Sharing the clean-air tips in this article may be helpful to day care providers or friends and relatives your child visits often. — Dr. Lauren Zajac, Boston Herald, 19 July 2026 She was born in the Dominican Republic and worked as both a bus attendant for the Department of Education and with children at a day care center, her brother said. — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 22 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for day care

Word History

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of day care was in 1898

Rhymes for day care

See All Rhymes for day care

Browse Nearby Words

day camp
day care
day coach
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Day care.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/day%20care. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

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
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of oxymoron

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All