What does "care" mean?
Close attention; concern; responsibility.
Care
/kɛə/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Close attention; concern; responsibility.
- Grammar: care is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: attention, caution, concern, upkeep.
- Useful contrasts: callous, calloused, italian apatia.
- Usage evidence: They are too busy fighting against each other to care for common ideals.
How to use "care"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "care" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "care" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "care" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "care" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "care" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "attention" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "care", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Close attention; concern; responsibility. countable, uncountable
"Care should be taken when holding babies."
- 2 activity involved in maintaining something in good working order wordnet
- 3 Worry. countable, uncountable
"I don’t have a care in the world."
- 4 the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something wordnet
- 5 Maintenance, upkeep. uncountable
"dental care"
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 attention and management implying responsibility for safety wordnet
- 7 The treatment of those in need (especially as a profession). uncountable
"The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation."
- 8 judiciousness in avoiding harm or danger wordnet
- 9 The state of being cared for by others. UK, uncountable
"in care"
- 10 a cause for feeling concern wordnet
- 11 The object of watchful attention or anxiety. countable, uncountable
"Right sorrowfully mourning her bereaved cares."
- 12 an anxious feeling wordnet
- 13 Grief, sorrow. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"More health and happiness betide my liege / Than can my care-tuned tongue deliver him!"
Verb
- 1 To be concerned (about), to have an interest (in); to feel concern (about). intransitive, transitive
"She doesn’t care what you think."
- 2 be concerned with wordnet
- 3 To want, to desire; to like; to be inclined towards or interested in. formal, intransitive, polite
"Would you care for another slice of cake?"
- 4 feel concern or interest wordnet
- 5 To be affected by, to treat as relevant for a subsequent course of action. broadly, informal, intransitive
"An event aggregator facilitates a fire-and-forget model of communication. The object triggering the event doesn’t care if there are any subscribers. It just fires the event and moves on."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 to hope, to desire or to prefer to have something, or to do something wordnet
- 7 (with for) To look after or look out for. intransitive
"Young children can learn to care for a pet."
- 8 be in charge of, act on, or dispose of wordnet
- 9 To mind; to object. Appalachia, intransitive
"After introducing herself, the therapist then asked the patient if it would be all right to do the exercises which the doctor had ordered for her. The patient would response, "Well, I don't care to." For several days, the therapist immediately left the room and officially recorded that the patient had "refused" therapy. […] It was not until months later that this therapist […] discovered that she should have been interpreting "I don't care to" as "I don't mind" doing those exercises now."
- 10 provide care for wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"They are too busy fighting against each other to care for common ideals."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "care"?
Common synonyms include: attention, caution, concern, upkeep, worry, abetment.
How do you use "care" in a sentence?
They are too busy fighting against each other to care for common ideals.
How do you pronounce "care"?
Pronounced /kɛə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English care, from Old English caru, ċearu (“care, concern, anxiety, sorrow, grief, trouble”), from Proto-West Germanic *karu, from Proto-Germanic *karō (“care, sorrow, cry”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- (“shout, call”). Cognate with Old Saxon cara, kara (“concern, action”), Middle High German kar (“sorrow, lamentation”), Icelandic kör (“sickbed”), Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍂𐌰 (kara, “concern, care”). Related also to Dutch karig (“scanty”), German karg (“sparse, meagre, barren”), Latin garriō, Ancient Greek γῆρυς (gêrus). See also chary.
Etymology 2
From Middle English caren, carien, from Old English carian (“to sorrow, grieve, be troubled, be anxious, to care for, heed”), from Proto-West Germanic *karōn (“to care”), from Proto-Germanic *karōną (“to care”). Cognate with Old Saxon karōn (“to lament”), Middle High German karen, karn (“to complain, lament, grieve, mourn”), archaic German karen (“to groan, gasp”), Alemannic German karen, kären (“to groan, gasp”), Swedish kära (“to fall in love”), Icelandic kæra (“to care, like”), Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍂𐍉𐌽 (karōn, “to be concerned”).