caregiver
Americannoun
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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:
As people live longer, social isolation can be a risk for older adults, who may face obstacles such as diminished mobility, limited access to transportation and often, the loss of a loved one or caregiver.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
When the family pulled her maternal grandmother, Mary Ann, from assisted living during the pandemic, Schiller became her primary caregiver.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
My brother Dez was the main caregiver for my parents, with him having the most flexible schedule.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
“Even when my parents were alive they worked really long, hard hours running a small business so even then he was a caregiver to me,” she told CNN, referring to her brother.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Though the cubs grow to become larger than their caregiver, and far more dangerous, they never give their mother trouble and she never loses her placid behaviour or her sense of authority over her litter.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
First developed in the 1950s by British psychiatrist John Bowlby, attachment theory suggests that the bonds we form with early caregivers shape our expectations of relationships.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Most payments are hourly, as they would be for nonfamily caregivers, but 13 states also have programs that pay family caregivers a small stipend of $40 to $50 a day not tied to hourly work.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Very often, the two types of caregivers use different digital systems to store patients’ vital information, and those systems can’t talk to each other.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
According to the New York Times, many people will be losing the caregivers who have been with them for years, and there is no one to replace them.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
I mean, like in many cultures, men were viewed as warriors and women were viewed as caregivers.
From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
Definitions 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.
