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Dictionary / care

care

/kɛə/ (Received-Pronunciation)/kɛɚ/ (General-American)[kʰe(ə̯)ɹ] (General-American)
  • noun
  • verb
  • from Old English

Close attention; concern; responsibility.

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1 All current definitions

Every sense of “care” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.

noun · etymology 1

  1. countableuncountableClose attention; concern; responsibility.

    Care should be taken when holding babies.

  2. countableuncountableWorry.

    I don’t have a care in the world.

  3. uncountableMaintenance, upkeep.

    dental care

  4. uncountableThe treatment of those in need (especially as a profession).

    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.2013 June 21, Karen McVeigh, “US rules human genes can't be patented”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 10:

  5. UKuncountableThe state of being cared for by others.

    in care

  6. countableuncountableThe object of watchful attention or anxiety.

    Right sorrowfully mourning her bereaved cares.1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 17:

Older & obsolete senses (1)
  1. countableobsoleteuncountableGrief, sorrow.
Wiktionary: “care” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

verb · etymology 2

  1. intransitivetransitiveTo be concerned (about), to have an interest (in); to feel concern (about).

    She doesn’t care what you think.

  2. formalintransitivepoliteTo want, to desire; to like; to be inclined towards or interested in.

    Would you care for another slice of cake?

  3. broadlyinformalintransitiveTo be affected by, to treat as relevant for a subsequent course of action.

    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.2013, Addy Osmani, Developing Backbone.js Applications, page 175:

  4. intransitive(with for) To look after or look out for.

    Young children can learn to care for a pet.

  5. AppalachiaintransitiveTo mind; to object.
Wiktionary: “care” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
Cross-check: WordNet senses (11)
  1. nounthe work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something — also: attention, aid, tending
  2. nounjudiciousness in avoiding harm or danger — also: caution, precaution, forethought
  3. nounan anxious feeling — also: concern, fear
  4. nouna cause for feeling concern
  5. nounattention and management implying responsibility for safety — also: charge, tutelage, guardianship
  6. nounactivity involved in maintaining something in good working order — also: maintenance, upkeep
  7. verbfeel concern or interest
  8. verbprovide care for — also: give care
  9. verbprefer or wish to do something — also: wish, like
  10. verbbe in charge of, act on, or dispose of — also: manage, deal, handle
  11. verbbe concerned with — also: worry
Princeton WordNet 3.0 — WordNet License

Synonyms: becare, bother, care, concern oneself, heed, mind, reck, trouble oneself, worry

Antonyms: let slide, neglect

Wiktionary: “care” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

2 History of the word

The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.

Etymology 1 (noun)

The word’s journey, newest to oldest:

  1. English (today)care
  2. Middle Englishcare
  3. Old Englishcaru
  4. Proto-West Germanic*karu
  5. Proto-Germanic*karō “care, sorrow, cry”
  6. Proto-Indo-European*ǵeh₂r- “shout, call”

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.

Wiktionary: “care” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Etymology 2 (verb)

The word’s journey, newest to oldest:

  1. English (today)care
  2. Middle Englishcaren
  3. Old Englishcarian “to sorrow, grieve, be troubled, be anxious, to care for, heed”
  4. Proto-West Germanic*karōn “to care”
  5. Proto-Germanic*karōną “to care”

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”).

Wiktionary: “care” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Derivatives — words built from “care”

aftercareallocarebabycarebaby-carebackcarebirdcarebodycarebushcarecarebearcare-experiencedcarefreecarefrontcarefrontationcarefulcaregivercare-givercaregivingcarehousecareleavercarelesscarelinecaremongercaremongeringcareseekercareseekingcaresomecaretakecaretakercaretakingcare-takingcarewarecareworkcareworkercareworncare-wornchildcareclothescaredaycaredeathcaredentalcare

Phrases & compounds

aged careambulatory carecare a hootcare and attentioncare and feedingcare bearcare factorcare factor zerocare homecare in the communitycare killed a catcare killed the catcare ofcare packageCare Sundaycorridor carecrit carecritical carecustomer careday care

Related terms

carcakecharycouldn't care lessI don't carewho careszero fucks given
Wiktionary: “care” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Want to go deeper? See also “care” on Etymonline ↗

3 Original language

Where “care” came from before it was English.

Etymology 1 (noun)

Native English word, from
Old English
Old English caru
Deepest root (reconstructed)
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- “shout, call”

Etymology 2 (verb)

Native English word, from
Old English
Old English carian “to sorrow, grieve, be troubled, be anxious, to care for, heed”
Deepest root (reconstructed)
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic *karōną “to care”
Wiktionary: “care” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

4 Original meaning

What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.

Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root
“shout, call”
Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- — rebuilt by linguists from its descendants; never written down.
Wiktionary: “care” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913

A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.

care n. [AS. caru, cearu; akin to OS. kara sorrow, Goth. kara, OHG chara, lament, and perh. to Gr. gh^rys voice. Not akin to cure. Cf. Chary.]

  1. A burdensome sense of responsibility; trouble caused by onerous duties; anxiety; concern; solicitude.
  2. Charge, oversight, or management, implying responsibility for safety and prosperity.
  3. Attention or heed; caution; regard; heedfulness; watchfulness; as, take care; have a care.
  4. The object of watchful attention or anxiety.

care v. i. [AS. cearian. See Care, n.]

  1. To be anxious or solicitous; to be concerned; to have regard or interest; -- sometimes followed by an objective of measure.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), public domain, via GCIDE

5 Use it with confidence

Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.

nounMeaning: Close attention; concern; responsibility.

Care should be taken when holding babies.

I thank thee for thy care and honest pains.1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 162

nounMeaning: Worry.

I don’t have a care in the world.

Yes, heaven, I’m in heaven / And the cares that hung around me through the week / Seem to vanish like a gambler’s lucky streak1956, Irving Berlin, “Cheek to Cheek”:

nounMeaning: Maintenance, upkeep.

dental care

Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Corinthians 11:28:

nounMeaning: The treatment of those in need (especially as a profession).

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.2013 June 21, Karen McVeigh, “US rules human genes can't be patented”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 10:

nounMeaning: The state of being cared for by others.

in care

nounMeaning: The object of watchful attention or anxiety.

Right sorrowfully mourning her bereaved cares.1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 17:

nounMeaning: the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something

no medical care was required

nounMeaning: judiciousness in avoiding harm or danger

he handled the vase with care

nounMeaning: an anxious feeling

care had aged him

nounMeaning: a cause for feeling concern

his major care was the illness of his wife

Princeton WordNet 3.0 — WordNet License
Wiktionary: “care” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Three steps to owning it

  1. Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
  2. Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
  3. Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?

6 The mastery game

Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.

Step 1 of 10

Say it, then spell it

care

/kɛə/

Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.

Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________

care

/kɛə/ · noun, verb

Step 1 — Say it and write it

Say “care” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.

Step 2 — Know every meaning

Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.

1. (noun) Close attention; concern; responsibility.
2. (noun) Worry.
3. (noun) Maintenance, upkeep.
4. (noun) The treatment of those in need (especially as a profession).
5. (noun) The state of being cared for by others.

Step 3 — Which meaning is it?

“Care should be taken when holding babies.”

A. The object of watchful attention or anxiety.
B. Close attention; concern; responsibility.
C. Maintenance, upkeep.

Circle the meaning used.

“I don’t have a care in the world.”

A. The treatment of those in need (especially as a profession).
B. Worry.
C. The object of watchful attention or anxiety.

Circle the meaning used.

“dental care”

A. The object of watchful attention or anxiety.
B. Worry.
C. Maintenance, upkeep.

Circle the meaning used.

Step 4 — History and origin

Which language did “care” come into English from?   A. Middle French  B. New Latin  C. Anglo-Norman  D. Old English

Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):

Write three words built from “care” and what each means:

Step 5 — Original meaning

The earliest traceable form is Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r-. What did it mean?

How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?

Step 6 — Use it yourself

Write a sentence using “care” to mean: Close attention; concern; responsibility.
Write a sentence using “care” to mean: Worry.
Write a sentence using “care” to mean: Maintenance, upkeep.

☐ I can explain its meanings   ☐ I know its history   ☐ I know its original language   ☐ I know its original meaning   ☐ I can use it confidently

Answer key — care

Which meaning, sentence 1: B. Close attention; concern; responsibility.

Which meaning, sentence 2: B. Worry.

Which meaning, sentence 3: C. Maintenance, upkeep.

Origin: D. Old English (Old English caru)

Journey: English care ← Middle English care ← Old English caru ← Proto-West Germanic *karu ← Proto-Germanic *karō ← Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r-

Some derivatives: aftercare, allocare, babycare, baby-care, backcare, birdcare, bodycare, bushcare

Original meaning: Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- — “shout, call”

Etymology: 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.

Sources: Wiktionary “care” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/care#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/care