caretaker
Americannoun
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caretakers
plural
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a person who is in charge of the maintenance of a building, estate, etc.; superintendent.
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a person or group that temporarily performs the duties of an office.
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British. a janitor.
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a person who takes care of another.
adjective
noun
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a person who is in charge of a place or thing, esp in the owner's absence
the caretaker of a school
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(modifier) holding office temporarily; interim
a caretaker government
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social welfare a person who takes care of a vulnerable person, often a close relative See also carer
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of caretaker
First recorded in 1855–60; care + take ( def. ) + -er 1 ( def. )
Explanation
When you work as a caretaker, you look after a house or a piece of property. The caretaker of a grand old estate might live in a small cottage on its grounds. A caretaker might make small repairs to a house, weed a property's flower gardens, or mow the lawn. Some caretakers live in the house they care for, often during an off season when its main inhabitants don't stay there. You can also use the word to mean "caregiver," a person who takes care of someone who's elderly or ill, or to refer to someone who looks after animals.
Vocabulary lists containing caretaker
The Circuit
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The Shining
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Devils Like Us
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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:
The family was flying with the children’s caretaker, Anita Maria Cetina, and friends Rachael Reed and Charmi Fehr, according to a joint statement from the families.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
She speaks mainly Spanish and is the primary caretaker for her husband, Nemorio, who is blind.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2026
A caretaker cleans the greens of sheep manure, but he seemed to have been on vacation for months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
You have something going on in your life that many people can relate to — being your mom’s caretaker.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
“But they’re going to check with the caretaker, to be sure,” I said.
From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin
Crimson was sent to the Oakland Zoo, where caretakers bottle-fed him around the clock.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
This sophisticated network is what can get the goods you order to your doorstop in hours, and it provides flexibility for workers who have irregular schedules such as college students and home caretakers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
For generations college trustees were primarily institutional caretakers focused on preservation and continuity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
They become caretakers and give up work early, losing years of potential income.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
One day our adult caretakers, including Abraham, decided that it would be unsafe to linger in Pochala.
From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau
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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.
