care

To care is to feel concern, and care is attention given, tending, or upkeep. If you care about how your garden grows, you will take care to water it often, remove weeds, and talk to your plants about the weather.

Care can be a noun or a verb. As a noun, it originally had the sense of “sorrow, anxiety” or “serious mental attention,” and now means “oversight, protection.” If you have a fragile package, you might write "handle with care" on the box. As a verb, care means “to feel concern or interest” — as in, "If you care about your health you'll put down that cigarette!" If someone says she "couldn't care less," then she does not care at all.

Definitions of care
  1. noun
    the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
    “no medical care was required”
    synonyms: aid, attention, tending
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 44 types...
    hide 44 types...
    hair care, haircare, hairdressing
    care for the hair: the activity of washing or cutting or curling or arranging the hair
    maternalism
    motherly care; behavior characteristic of a mother; the practice of acting as a mother does toward her children
    baby sitting, babysitting
    the work of a baby sitter; caring for children when their parents are not home
    pet sitting
    the work of a pet sitter; caring for pets in their own home while their owners are away from home
    dental care
    care for the teeth
    first aid
    emergency care given before regular medical aid can be obtained
    intervention, treatment
    care provided to improve a situation (especially medical procedures or applications that are intended to relieve illness or injury)
    incubation
    maintaining something at the most favorable temperature for its development
    livery
    the care (feeding and stabling) of horses for pay
    manicure
    professional care for the hands and fingernails
    pedicure
    professional care for the feet and toenails
    nourishment
    the act of nourishing
    nursing
    the work of caring for the sick or injured or infirm
    TLC, tender loving care
    considerate and solicitous care
    nurturance
    physical and emotional care and nourishment
    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
    skin care, skincare
    care for the skin
    faith cure, faith healing
    care provided through prayer and faith in God
    tree surgery
    treatment of damaged or decaying trees
    health care, healthcare
    the preservation of mental and physical health by preventing or treating illness through services offered by the health profession
    brush, brushing
    the act of brushing your hair
    comb, combing
    the act of drawing a comb through hair
    shampoo
    the act of washing your hair with shampoo
    hairweaving
    the act of interweaving a hairpiece with your own hair
    brush, brushing
    the act of brushing your teeth
    medical aid, medical care
    professional treatment for illness or injury
    massage
    kneading and rubbing parts of the body to increase circulation and promote relaxation
    modality
    a method of therapy that involves physical or electrical therapeutic treatment
    facial
    care for the face that usually involves cleansing and massage and the application of cosmetic creams
    detoxification
    a treatment for addiction to drugs or alcohol intended to remove the physiological effects of the addictive substances
    laying on of hands
    the application of a faith healer's hands to the patient's body
    chiropractic
    a method of treatment that manipulates body structures (especially the spine) to relieve low back pain or even headache or high blood pressure
    fomentation
    application of warm wet coverings to a part of the body to relieve pain and inflammation
    naturopathy
    a method of treating disease using food and exercise and heat to assist the natural healing process
    naprapathy
    a drugless method of treatment based on the belief that disease symptoms arise from problems with ligaments and connective tissues
    orthodontic treatment
    dental treatment that corrects irregularities of the teeth or of the relation of the teeth to surrounding anatomy; treatment is usually by braces or mechanical aids
    orthoptics
    treatment of defects of binocular vision (such as strabismus and amblyopia) by nonsurgical measures (especially by exercises to strengthen the eye muscles)
    osteopathy
    therapy based on the assumption that restoring health is best accomplished by manipulating the skeleton and muscles
    osteoclasis
    treatment of a skeletal deformity by intentionally fracturing a bone
    acupuncture, stylostixis
    treatment of pain or disease by inserting the tips of needles at specific points on the skin
    G-Jo, acupressure, shiatsu
    treatment of symptoms by applying pressure with the fingers to specific pressure points on the body
    autogenic therapy, autogenic training, autogenics
    training patients in self-induced relaxation
    hydropathy, hydrotherapy
    the internal and external use of water in the treatment of disease
    rest-cure
    rest as a medical treatment for stress or anxiety etc.
    type of:
    work
    activity directed toward making or doing something
  2. noun
    activity involved in maintaining something in good working order
    “he wrote the manual on car care”
    synonyms: maintenance, upkeep
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 8 types...
    hide 8 types...
    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
    oil change
    replacing dirty oil with clean
    interim overhaul
    an overhaul between the regular times for overhauling
    type of:
    fix, fixing, fixture, mend, mending, repair, reparation
    the act of putting something in working order again
  3. noun
    attention and management implying responsibility for safety
    “he is in the care of a bodyguard”
    synonyms: charge, guardianship, tutelage
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 5 types...
    hide 5 types...
    due care, ordinary care, reasonable care
    the care that a reasonable man would exercise under the circumstances; the standard for determining legal duty
    foster care
    supervised care for delinquent or neglected children usually in an institution or substitute home
    great care
    more attention and consideration than is normally bestowed by prudent persons
    providence
    the guardianship and control exercised by a deity
    slight care
    such care as a careless or inattentive person would exercise
    type of:
    protection
    the activity of protecting someone or something
  4. verb
    be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
    synonyms: deal, handle, manage
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 29 types...
    hide 29 types...
    administer, administrate
    work in an administrative capacity; supervise or be in charge of
    organise, organize
    cause to be structured or ordered or operating according to some principle or idea
    work
    cause to operate or function
    come to grips, get to grips
    deal with (a problem or a subject)
    dispose of
    deal with or settle
    mind, take care
    be in charge of or deal with
    coordinate
    bring into common action, movement, or condition
    juggle
    deal with simultaneously
    process
    deal with in a routine way
    misconduct, mishandle, mismanage
    manage badly or incompetently
    direct
    be in charge of
    carry on, conduct, deal
    direct the course of; manage or control
    touch
    deal with; usually used with a form of negation
    curate
    organize and oversee items in a collection or exhibit
    finesse
    plan, manage, or direct with subtle and skillful maneuvering
    arrange, order, put, set up
    arrange thoughts, ideas, or temporal events
    give, have, hold, make, throw
    organize or be responsible for
    rationalise, rationalize
    structure and run according to rational or scientific principles in order to achieve desired results
    pontificate
    administer a pontifical office
    territorialise, territorialize
    organize as a territory
    reorganise, reorganize, shake up
    organize anew
    collectivise, collectivize
    bring under collective control; of farms and industrial enterprises
    tend
    manage or run
    guide, steer
    be a guiding or motivating force or drive
    head, lead
    be in charge of
    manage, oversee, superintend, supervise
    watch and direct
    operate, run
    direct or control; projects, businesses, etc.
    racketeer
    carry on illegal business activities involving crime
    administer
    direct the taking of
    type of:
    command, control
    exercise authoritative control or power over
  5. verb
    provide care for
    “The nurse was caring for the wounded”
    synonyms: give care
    see moresee less
    types:
    show 6 types...
    hide 6 types...
    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
    minister
    attend to the wants and needs of others
    tend
    have care of or look after
    type of:
    aid, assist, help
    give help or assistance; be of service
  6. noun
    judiciousness in avoiding harm or danger
    “he handled the vase with care”
    synonyms: caution, forethought, precaution
    see moresee less
    type of:
    judiciousness
    good judgment
  7. noun
    a cause for feeling concern
    “his major care was the illness of his wife”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    morass, plight, predicament, quagmire, quandary
    a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one
  8. noun
    an anxious feeling
    “care had aged him”
    synonyms: concern, fear
    see moresee less
    type of:
    anxiety
    a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune
  9. verb
    be concerned with
    synonyms: worry
    see moresee less
    types:
    brood, dwell
    think moodily or anxiously about something
    type of:
    mind
    be concerned with or about something or somebody
  10. verb
    feel concern or interest
    “I really care about my work”
    “I don't care”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    compassionate, condole with, feel for, pity, sympathize with
    share the suffering of
  11. verb
    prefer or wish to do something
    “Do you care to try this dish?”
    synonyms: like, wish
    see moresee less
    types:
    please
    be the will of or have the will (to)
    type of:
    desire, want
    feel or have a desire for; want strongly
Word Family