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caries

[kair-eez, -ee-eez]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR caries ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural car·ies.

decay, as of bone or of plant tissue.

Origin of caries

First recorded in 1625–35, caries is from the Latin word cariēs decay

Can be confusedcaries carries

Carie

[kar-ee]

noun

a female given name, form of Caroline.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for caries

crater, disrepair, corrosion, disintegration, impairment, decomposition, deterioration, blight, extinction, rot, degeneration, dent, decay, void, vacuity, hollow, pocket, chamber, gap, atrium

Examples from the Web for caries

Historical Examples of caries

In some cases, the odor arising from caries is combined with that of the stomach.
The Ladies Book of Useful Information
Anonymous
In toothache arising from caries, and as a lotion to the temples in headache.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II
Arnold Cooley
The quality of Fijian teeth as reflected by frequency of caries is excellent.
A Racial Study of the Fijians
Norman E. Gabel
It was a case of caries, they said, and Austin mustn't hunt sheep any more.
Austin and His Friends
Frederic H. Balfour
Scepticism, that caries of the intelligence, had not left him a single whole idea.
Les Misrables
Victor Hugo

British Dictionary definitions for caries

caries

noun plural -ies

progressive decay of a bone or a tooth

Word Origin for caries

C17: from Latin: decay; related to Greek kēr death

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

Word Origin and History for caries

n.

1630s, from Latin caries "rottenness, decay," from Proto-Italic *kas-, usually said to be from PIE root *kere- "to injure, break apart" (cf. Greek ker "death, destruction," Old Irish krin "withered, faded"). Related: Carious. But de Vaan writes that "semantically, caries may just as well belong to careocared 'to lack' as 'defect, state of defectiveness' ...."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

caries in Medicine

caries

[kâr′ēz]

n. pl. caries

Decay of a bone or tooth, especially dental caries.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

caries in Science

caries

[kâr′ēz]

Plural caries

Decay of a bone or tooth. Dental plaque formed by bacteria initiates a progressive process of decay that, if left unchecked, leads to tooth loss.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.