creche

creche — noun

1. a place where babies and very young children are looked after during the day whi

1.名詞B1
釋義

a place where babies and very young children are looked after during the day while their parents are at work or busy with other things

例句

The hospital runs a free creche for staff so that nurses with young children can work their shifts.

collocation: hospital creche / workplace creche

Mei-Lin put her son in the local creche three mornings a week so she could return to teaching.

British English term for daycare centre

同義詞
  • day nursery

    the standard British term for the same type of facility; 'creche' is slightly more informal

  • childcare center

    used in American English for the same concept

  • playgroup

    usually for slightly older children (2–4 years old) and often runs for only a few hours

用法筆記

Much more common in British English than American English. In the US, 'daycare center' or 'child care center' is the usual term.

常見錯誤

❌The baby goes to creche every morning.
✅The baby goes to a creche every morning.
💡'creche' is a countable noun and usually needs an article.

2. a model or display of the scene of the birth of Jesus Christ, with figures of Ma

2.名詞B2
釋義

a model or display of the scene of the birth of Jesus Christ, with figures of Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, shepherds, and animals

例句

Every December the church sets up a large creche in the town square with life-sized wooden figures.

collocation: set up a creche

Sofia's grandmother has a small ceramic creche that has been in the family for over sixty years.

同義詞
  • nativity scene

    the most widely understood term across all varieties of English

  • nativity display

    a broader term that can include live performances or large installations

用法筆記

Also called a 'nativity scene' or 'nativity display'. 'Creche' for this sense is especially common in Ireland and Britain.

3. a home for babies and very young children whose parents cannot or will not look

3.名詞C1
釋義

a home for babies and very young children whose parents cannot or will not look after them, common in earlier centuries when such institutions took in abandoned infants

例句

The old records show that the creche on Cork Street took in more than three hundred foundlings in 1845 alone.

dated register; historical institution

Abandoned babies in nineteenth-century London were often sent to a creche run by the local parish church.

同義詞
  • foundling hospital

    a historical term for the same type of institution, now also dated

  • orphanage

    broader — covers children of all ages, not just infants

用法筆記

This sense is now dated and rarely used in modern contexts. Modern equivalents would be 'children's home' or 'foster care'. The word 'crèche' (with a grave accent) was historically used for this meaning in French and adopted into English.

常見錯誤

❌She volunteered at a creche for abandoned babies.' (in modern English this sounds old-fashioned)
✅She volunteered at a children's home for abandoned babies.
💡'creche' for a foundling hospital sounds dated; use 'children's home' or 'foster care facility' instead.