Caries
//ˈkɛə.ɹiːz// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay. uncountable, usually
- 2 soft decayed area in a tooth; progressive decay can lead to the death of a tooth wordnet
- 3 The progressive destruction of bone or tooth by decay.; Ellipsis of dental caries (“tooth decay”). abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, uncountable, usually
"Near-synonym: cavity"
Verb
- 1 third-person singular simple present indicative of cary form-of, indicative, present, singular, third-person
Example
More examples"Love: A temporary insanity curable by marriage or by the removal of the patient from the influences under which he incurred the disorder. This disease, like caries and many other ailments, is prevalent only among civilized races living under artificial conditions; barbarous nations breathing pure air and eating simple food enjoy immunity from its ravages. It is sometimes fatal, but more frequently to the physician than to the patient."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin cariēs.
Related phrases
More for "caries"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.