caress
Americannoun
-
caresses
plural
verb (used with object)
-
caresses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
caressed,
past participle, past
-
caressing
present participle
-
to touch, pat, or stroke gently to show affection.
-
to touch or seem to touch lightly.
The breeze caressed the trees.
-
to treat with favor, kindness, etc.
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
caresssimple
-
caressessimple
-
have caressedperfect
-
has caressedperfect
-
am caressingprogressive
-
are caressingprogressive
-
is caressingprogressive
-
have been caressingperfect progressive
-
has been caressingperfect progressive
Past
-
caressedsimple
-
had caressedperfect
-
was caressingprogressive
-
were caressingprogressive
-
had been caressingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of caress
First recorded in 1605–15; from French caresse, from Italian carezza, from unattested Vulgar Latin caritia, equivalent to Latin cār(us) “dear” + -itia suffix of abstract nouns; cf. charity
Explanation
To caress someone or something means to stroke it gently in a loving or affectionate manner. Don't you love to caress the soft fur of your pet hamster or cat? The word caress can be either a verb or a noun, both of which refer primarily to the affectionate petting or stroking of another. You can also use caress to mean any sort of kind or loving action, and it can be accomplished by things other than people. The soft wind can caress your skin as you walk towards the ocean’s edge. And who doesn't love the caress of smooth silk sheets against your skin when you get into bed?!
Vocabulary lists containing caress
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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The Secret Life of Bees
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"The Moustache" and "Who We Really Are"
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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:
His left hand clutches a silver teapot in a gesture midway between a caress and a grasp.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Longley said: "The first thing you notice here is the silence, and the caress of the sea air."
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2024
“Sometimes she’ll say, ‘Mariella,’ and she’ll caress my hand,” the pre-K teacher says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2023
Survivors of Sunday’s wreck and relatives of the people who died crumpled over in grief as they sat down to caress their loved one’s coffin.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 1, 2023
Even now I love long black eyes that caress like silk, Ever and ever sad and laughing eyes, Whose lids make such sweet shadow when they close It seems another beautiful look of hers.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
A stable is secured, and the mare, who senses that something strange is going on, is indulged with apples and caresses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026
In Ain Ebel's cemetery, Jallad caresses her son's tombstone, surrounded by women trying to comfort her.
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
We see Ella Fitzgerald at New York’s Basin Street East in the mid-1950s; her eyes closed, she gently leans into a microphone that she caresses with both hands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
Within sight of the fierce flames Mohammed Atris caresses the fresh green shoots that cover his land.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2022
The sand and its caresses, the conch and its melody would be there forever as well.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
Two girls, their faces streaked with tears, gently caressed the face of a dead man, wrapped in a sheet with a floral motif, and then hugged each other tightly.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2025
During a performance at an Atlanta event in September, the “Ride With Me” rapper and his now-wife playfully caressed her stomach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2024
"She quietly passed away as if asleep while I caressed her," Atsuko Sato wrote on her blog, thanking Kabosu's fans.
From BBC ● May 24, 2024
During those early days, according to Dass’s medical record, she caressed her daughter, was caring and attentive and seemed to be adjusting well to her new role.
From New York Times ● Jun. 29, 2023
As the white rose petals caressed her face, I held my breath, waiting for that glorious moment, the moment when she would become more than ordinary, when she would be touched by the divine.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Europa, the king’s daughter, becomes enamored of the creature, entwining his horns with flowers and caressing him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Jareth is an illusionist as beguiling and seductive as he is sinister, caressing bubbles and gravity-defiant glass spheres with liquid grace.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026
With the cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, he shows them off beautifully, caressing them in light so that they look lit from within.
From New York Times ● Apr. 25, 2024
"My hands burn in this heat," she tells me, gently caressing her fingertips.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2024
Yossarian padded ahead into the forest again, caressing his bare, tingling belly adoringly from time to time as though to reassure himself it was all still there.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
