aftercare

English

Etymology

From after- +‎ care.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɑːf.tə(ɹ).kɛə/, /ˈæf.tə(ɹ).kɛə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈæf.tɚ.kɛɹ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

aftercare (uncountable)

1. (medicine) The care given to a patient during recovery from an operation or after hospitalization.
   • 2020, Yaa Gyasi, chapter 27, in Transcendent Kingdom, New York: Knopf:

     A nurse came in behind him with some aftercare instructions, and the three of us made our way to the car.

2. (business, frequently attributive) Services and support offered to a customer for the goods or service they have purchased.
3. Emotional support offered by the programme makers to a person who has appeared on a stressful talk show, etc.
   • 2010, Jeremy Kyle, You Couldn't Make It Up:

     […] bring the aftercare we do in the UK to the US and see if our approach can get the same great results on both sides of the Atlantic.

4. (BDSM) Tender affection and care given to a partner after a BDSM activity, usually to serve as a transition between the activity and whatever follows it.
5. Childcare services tending to children after the school day.

Translations

the care given to a patient during recovery

• Dutch: nazorg (nl) f
• Finnish: jälkihoito
• French: postcure (fr) f, suivi (fr) m
• Japanese: アフターケア (ja) (afutākea)
• Scottish Gaelic: ath-fhrithealadh m

See also

• forecare