Library / English Dictionary

CARE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Activity involved in maintaining something in good working order

Example:

he wrote the manual on car care

Synonyms:

care; maintenance; upkeep

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("care" is a kind of...):

fix; fixing; fixture; mend; mending; repair; reparation (the act of putting something in working order again)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "care"):

camera care (keeping a camera in good working order)

car care (keeping a car in good working order)

inspection and repair; overhaul; service (periodic maintenance on a car or machine)

pump priming (introducing water into a pump to improve the seal and start the water flowing)

scheduled maintenance (maintenance at a regularly scheduled time)

steam fitting (care (installation and maintenance) of equipment for ventilating or heating or refrigerating)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something

Example:

the old car needs constant attention

Synonyms:

aid; attention; care; tending

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("care" is a kind of...):

work (activity directed toward making or doing something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "care"):

health care; healthcare (the preservation of mental and physical health by preventing or treating illness through services offered by the health profession)

tree surgery (treatment of damaged or decaying trees)

faith cure; faith healing (care provided through prayer and faith in God)

skin care; skincare (care for the skin)

personal care (care for someone who is disabled or is otherwise unable to care for themselves; can including bathing and cooking and managing bodily functions)

nurturance (physical and emotional care and nourishment)

tender loving care; TLC (considerate and solicitous care)

nursing (the work of caring for the sick or injured or infirm)

nourishment (the act of nourishing)

pedicure (professional care for the feet and toenails)

manicure (professional care for the hands and fingernails)

livery (the care (feeding and stabling) of horses for pay)

incubation (maintaining something at the most favorable temperature for its development)

intervention; treatment (care provided to improve a situation (especially medical procedures or applications that are intended to relieve illness or injury))

first aid (emergency care given before regular medical aid can be obtained)

dental care (care for the teeth)

pet sitting (the work of a pet sitter; caring for pets in their own home while their owners are away from home)

baby sitting; babysitting (the work of a baby sitter; caring for children when their parents are not home)

maternalism (motherly care; behavior characteristic of a mother; the practice of acting as a mother does toward her children)

hair care; haircare; hairdressing (care for the hair: the activity of washing or cutting or curling or arranging the hair)

Derivation:

care (provide care for)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Attention and management implying responsibility for safety

Example:

he is in the care of a bodyguard

Synonyms:

care; charge; guardianship; tutelage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("care" is a kind of...):

protection (the activity of protecting someone or something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "care"):

slight care (such care as a careless or inattentive person would exercise)

providence (the guardianship and control exercised by a deity)

great care (more attention and consideration than is normally bestowed by prudent persons)

foster care (supervised care for delinquent or neglected children usually in an institution or substitute home)

due care; ordinary care; reasonable care (the care that a reasonable man would exercise under the circumstances; the standard for determining legal duty)

Derivation:

care (be in charge of, act on, or dispose of)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Judiciousness in avoiding harm or danger

Example:

he handled the vase with care

Synonyms:

care; caution; forethought; precaution

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("care" is a kind of...):

judiciousness (good judgment)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A cause for feeling concern

Example:

his major care was the illness of his wife

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("care" is a kind of...):

plight; predicament; quandary (a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one)

Derivation:

care (be concerned with)

care (feel concern or interest)

Sense 6

Meaning:

An anxious feeling

Example:

they hushed it up out of fear of public reaction

Synonyms:

care; concern; fear

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("care" is a kind of...):

anxiety (a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune)

Derivation:

care (be concerned with)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be concerned with

Example:

I worry about my grades

Synonyms:

care; worry

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "care" is one way to...):

mind (be concerned with or about something or somebody)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "care"):

brood; dwell (think moodily or anxiously about something)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

care (a cause for feeling concern)

care (an anxious feeling)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Feel concern or interest

Example:

I don't care

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "care" is one way to...):

compassionate; condole with; feel for; pity; sympathize with (share the suffering of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue care

Also:

care (provide care for)

care for (be fond of; be attached to)

Derivation:

care (a cause for feeling concern)

caring (a loving feeling)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Prefer or wish to do something

Example:

Would you like to come along to the movies?

Synonyms:

care; like; wish

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Hypernyms (to "care" is one way to...):

desire; want (feel or have a desire for; want strongly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "care"):

please (be the will of or have the will (to))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They care to move

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be in charge of, act on, or dispose of

Example:

She managed her parents' affairs after they got too old

Synonyms:

care; deal; handle; manage

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "care" is one way to...):

command; control (exercise authoritative control or power over)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "care"):

touch (deal with; usually used with a form of negation)

carry on; conduct; deal (direct the course of; manage or control)

direct (be in charge of)

misconduct; mishandle; mismanage (manage badly or incompetently)

process (deal with in a routine way)

juggle (deal with simultaneously)

coordinate (bring into common action, movement, or condition)

mind; take care (be in charge of or deal with)

dispose of (deal with or settle)

come to grips; get to grips (deal with (a problem or a subject))

work (cause to operate or function)

organise; organize (cause to be structured or ordered or operating according to some principle or idea)

administer; administrate (work in an administrative capacity; supervise or be in charge of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

care (attention and management implying responsibility for safety)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Provide care for

Example:

The nurse was caring for the wounded

Synonyms:

care; give care

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "care" is one way to...):

aid; assist; help (give help or assistance; be of service)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "care"):

dry-nurse (take care of an infant without breastfeeding it)

attend; look; see; take care (take charge of or deal with)

fuss; mother; overprotect (care for like a mother)

nurse (serve as a nurse; care for sick or handicapped people)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

care (the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Some are in foster care, a temporary home setting.

(Adoption, NIH)

A subdiscipline of nursing focusing on care for patients with short term illnesses.

(Acute Illnesses Nursing, NCI Thesaurus)

The degree to which individuals are inhibited or facilitated in their ability to gain entry to and to receive care and services from the health care system.

(Access to Care, NCI Thesaurus)

She died, and left this one child, whom for her sake I have cherished and cared for.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They give you a way to tell your wishes to family, friends, and health care professionals and to avoid confusion later on.

(Advance Directives, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

Occupations of medical personnel who are not physicians, and are qualified by special training and, frequently, by licensure to work in supporting roles in the health care field.

(Allied Health Sciences, NCI Thesaurus)

Caring for someone who has Alzheimer's disease (AD) can be stressful and overwhelming.

(Alzheimer's Caregivers, NIH: National Institute on Aging)

"Why you'd have to hire a man 'specially to take care of 'm."

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Talk to your doctor, pharmacist, or other health care provider before giving two medicines at the same time.

(Medicines and Children, Food and Drug Administration)

Oil from the tea tree is used in shampoos and skin care products and to treat skin infections.

(Melaleuca alternifolia, NCI Dictionary)