English Reference
Verb

nourish

v.
C1 Advanced US /ˈnɝɪʃ/ UK /nˈʌɹɪʃ/ nour·ish UK spelling nourished, nourishes, nourishing

v.to provide food for someone or something so they can grow and stay healthy. It can also mean to support an idea or feeling so it becomes stronger.

v.to provide food or sustenance for growth and development; to support or maintain a physical or mental state. Often used in the context of soil, plants, or abstract concepts like hope and creativity.


SIMPLE

The soil needs to nourish the plants for them to grow.

CONTEXTUAL

A healthy diet is essential to nourish the body and maintain high energy levels throughout the day.

COMPLEX

The philosopher argued that a society must nourish its citizens' intellectual curiosity to ensure long-term cultural and scientific progress.

Eat Social's sandwich shop venture launched three months ago and it puts 100% of its profits towards its community meals programme , external , providing nourishing meals to groups in schools.

BBC News· 7 Sept 2026

But in both, you get a sense of what creative community means, and how nourishing and enriching that can be.

The Guardian· 2 Sept 2026

From Middle English norischen, from Old French nouriss-, stem of one of the conjugated forms of norrir, from Latin nutriō (“to suckle, feed, foster, nourish, cherish, preserve, support”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin nutriō
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated