care
noun
a state of mind in which one is troubled; worry, anxiety, or concern.
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care
1 American
[kair]
/ kɛər /
noun
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cares
plural
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a state of mind in which one is troubled; worry, anxiety, or concern.
He was never free from care.
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a cause or object of worry, anxiety, concern, etc..
A massage is an excellent way to forget your cares for a little while.
Their son has always been a heavy care to them.
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serious attention; solicitude; heed; caution.
She devotes great care to her work.
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the provision of what is needed for the well-being or protection of a person or thing.
He is under the care of a doctor.
With proper care, the watch will last a lifetime.
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temporary keeping, as for the benefit of or until claimed by the owner.
He left his valuables in the care of friends.
Address my mail in care of the American Embassy.
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grief; suffering; sorrow.
verb (used without object)
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cares,
present (3rd person singular)
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cared,
past participle, past
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caring
present participle
-
to be concerned or solicitous; have thought or regard.
You can just tell she cares for people's feelings by the way she talks to them.
-
to be concerned or have a special preference (usually used in negative constructions).
I don't care where we go, I just want to get out of town for a bit.
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to make provision or look out (usually followed byfor ).
Will you care for the children while I am away?
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to have an inclination, liking, fondness, or affection (usually followed byfor ).
Would you care for dessert?
I don't care for him very much.
verb (used with object)
-
cares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cared,
past participle, past
-
caring
present participle
-
to feel concern about.
He doesn't care what others say.
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to wish; desire; like.
Would you care to dance?
verb phrase
idioms
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take care,
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be alert; be careful.
Take care that you don't fall on the ice!
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take care of yourself; goodbye: used as an expression of parting.
-
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take care of,
-
to watch over; be responsible for.
to take care of an invalid.
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to deal with; attend to.
I'll take care of the bill, and you can go out and get the car started.
-
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couldn't care less, could not care less; be completely unconcerned: Also could care less.
I couldn't care less whether she goes to the party or not.
CARE
2
American
[kair]
/ kɛər /
Or
Care
noun
care
1
British
/ kɛə /
verb
-
(when tr, may take a clause as object) to be troubled or concerned; be affected emotionally
he is dying, and she doesn't care
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(intr; foll by for or about) to have regard, affection, or consideration (for)
he cares more for his hobby than his job
-
to have a desire or taste (for)
would you care for some tea?
-
to provide physical needs, help, or comfort (for)
the nurse cared for her patients
-
(tr) to agree or like (to do something)
would you care to sit down, please?
-
I am completely indifferent
noun
-
careful or serious attention
under her care the plant flourished
he does his work with care
-
protective or supervisory control
in the care of a doctor
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(often plural) trouble; anxiety; worry
-
an object of or cause for concern
the baby's illness was her only care
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caution
handle with care
-
Usual abbreviation: c/o. at the address of: written on envelopes
-
social welfare made the legal responsibility of a local authority by order of a court
CARE
2
British
/ kɛə /
acronym
-
Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere, Inc.; a federation of US charities, giving financial and technical assistance to many regions of the world
-
communicated authenticity, regard, empathy: the three qualities believed to be essential in the therapist practising client-centred therapy
care
More Idioms
Usage
Couldn't care less, a phrase used to express indifference, is sometimes heard as could care less, which ought to mean the opposite but is intended to be synonymous with the former phrase. Both versions are common mainly in informal speech.
Synonym Usage
To take care, pains, trouble (to do something) implies watchful, conscientious effort to do something exactly right. To take care implies the performance of one particular detail: She took care to close the cover before striking the match. To take pains suggests a sustained carefulness, an effort to see that nothing is overlooked but that every small detail receives attention: to take pains with fine embroidery. To take trouble implies an effort that requires a considerable amount of activity and exertion: to take the trouble to make suitable arrangements.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
caresimple
-
caressimple
-
have caredperfect
-
has caredperfect
-
am caringprogressive
-
are caringprogressive
-
is caringprogressive
-
have been caringperfect progressive
-
has been caringperfect progressive
Past
-
caredsimple
-
had caredperfect
-
was caringprogressive
-
were caringprogressive
-
had been caringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of care1
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun care “sadness, sorrow, grief,” Old English caru, cearu, cognate with Gothic kara, Old High German chara “lament”
Origin of CARE2
First recorded in 1945–50; shortening of C(ooperative for) A(merican) R(elief) E(verywhere)
Explanation
To care is to feel concern, and care is attention given, tending, or upkeep. If you care about how your garden grows, you will take care to water it often, remove weeds, and talk to your plants about the weather. Care can be a noun or a verb. As a noun, it originally had the sense of “sorrow, anxiety” or “serious mental attention,” and now means “oversight, protection.” If you have a fragile package, you might write "handle with care" on the box. As a verb, care means “to feel concern or interest” — as in, "If you care about your health you'll put down that cigarette!" If someone says she "couldn't care less," then she does not care at all.
Vocabulary lists containing care
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
For just a second, the spark between you two is so powerful that it melts away every care outside of that place and time.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
“I love that it’s bringing attention to something that I care about very deeply,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Around 1,200 residents and tourists were evacuated, while 10 people were in intensive care in hospital, the prime minister said.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
The shooting also led to a surge in public criticism about the role of health-insurance companies in limiting or denying medical care.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Rich in this new evidence of the care of Him who was God even of Ravensbruck.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
"If large numbers of rescued dogs had entered adoption programmes, animal groups like us would know about them," said Kim Young-hwan, a representative of animal rights group CARE.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
Elsewhere, cattle in search of water walked into fields still muddy from last year’s heavy rains, only to get stuck, said Chikondi Chabvuta, a Malawi-based aid worker with CARE, the international relief organization.
From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2024
"It's concerning because this legislation aims to protect vulnerable women, and it aims to combat human trafficking," said Dr Rebecca Stevenson of CARE.
From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2024
Mr. Comer said the State Department’s Coordinator for Afghan Relocation, or CARE, is at the center of those efforts.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 21, 2023
So the next card I wrote was DAY CARE, which is what Bran and I called school.
From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg
"I voted for HH because he cares about us," James Phiri, a 29-year-old student at the University of Zambia, told the Reuters news agency, using a common nickname for the president.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The reality is that crypto is more entangled with the traditional banking system than it cares to admit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Instead of taking pleasure in the Witch’s undoing, Sophie tenderly cares for her.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
“What anyone really cares about is the prices that went up didn’t come back down, and their wages didn’t keep up with it,” Swonk said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Who cares about important phone calls when our family photo is on the news?
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
He figures he traveled four million miles, while his wife, Susan, cared for their two children.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
I had not considered, or particularly cared, what my yellow wool dress might ignite in others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
On Friday, the Ojai Raptor Center where Jackie is being cared for announced her blood values had fallen again, indicating her anemia had worsened.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
I had no idea what flavor the Cosmic Vibe one was evoking, beyond “red very sweet,” but by the time I’d finished it, I couldn’t have cared less.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Like any infant, it must be cared for if it is to survive.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
In a video posted earlier this year, Avrial Barreto, a New York City-based client manager, says that being a personality hire simply means caring about others in the office.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
“When I was younger, I was told that as you get older, you start caring an awful lot about your dividends,” said Bruce Barber, 79, a retired banker in Horseshoe Bay, Texas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
“It’s fun to be a protagonist who gets to indulge in human weakness, knowing that we hopefully will bring the audience back around to caring about you.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Soulaiman Bortata described the teenager as a "caring, bright and funny son", who was interested in fitness and going to the gym, and loved to cook for his family.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
But he had no talent for caring what others thought of him: It was almost as if he didn’t know how to do it.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
