caregiver
Americannoun
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caregivers
plural
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a person who cares for someone who is sick or disabled.
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an adult who cares for an infant or child.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of caregiver
First recorded in 1980–85; care + giver ( def. )
Explanation
Someone who takes care of a very young, elderly, or ill person is called a caregiver. If you make sure your ailing friend eats every day and is relatively comfortable, you are her caregiver. Being a caregiver is sometimes a paying job — a home health aid and a nurse in a hospital both work as caregivers. When a family member is ill, you may become a temporary caregiver, bringing hot soup and warm blankets. In Britain, this person is called a carer. Both words come from the Old English carian, "to feel concern" and also "to grieve."
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:
"Many children have lost both their father and mother because of Ebola," Marie Bakikula, a caregiver at a UNICEF-supported nursery in Mongbwalu, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
It was not like you were Daniel’s caregiver or someone from his nursing home who, over a period of months, decided to “fall in love” and convince him to change his will.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
Yingwei's services cost less than half the price of employing a caregiver.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
I became his interpreter, driver, scheduler, protector and caregiver.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
We’d found a babysitter, Glorina Casabal, a doting, expert caregiver about ten years older than I was.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
A 2020 report by the California state auditor found that nearly three-quarters of In-home Supportive Services caregivers assist a family member.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
The challenge of helping little ones process the trauma is acute for caregivers of children with special needs.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
They focused on recognizable sounds to cue caregivers to what’s happening with a patient—for example, using the familiar “lub-dub” of a heartbeat to indicate blood pressure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
I helped organize their finances so I could pay their caregivers and monthly bills.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
The Court ruled these tenants could be held civilly liable for the nonviolent behavior of their children and caregivers.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
