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care

[ kair ]
/ kɛər /
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noun
verb (used without object), cared, car·ing.
verb (used with object), cared, car·ing.
to feel concern about: He doesn't care what others say.
to wish; desire; like: Would you care to dance?
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Idioms about care

Origin of care

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun care “sadness, sorrow, grief,” Old English caru, cearu, cognate with Gothic kara, Old High German chara “lament”

synonym study for care

3. 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.

usage note for care

13. 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.

OTHER WORDS FROM care

carer, nounnon·car·ing, adjectiveo·ver·care, nounun·car·ing, adjective

Other definitions for care (2 of 2)

CARE

or Care

[ kair ]
/ kɛər /

noun
a private organization for the collection of funds, goods, etc., for distribution to people in foreign countries who need aid.

Origin of CARE

First recorded in 1945–50; shortening of C(ooperative for) A(merican) R(elief) E(verywhere)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use care in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for care (1 of 2)

care
/ (kɛə) /

verb
noun

Word Origin for care

Old English cearu (n), cearian (vb), of Germanic origin; compare Old High German chara lament, Latin garrīre to gossip

British Dictionary definitions for care (2 of 2)

CARE
/ (kɛə) /

n acronym for
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
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with care

care

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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