What does care mean?
"Care" is one of the most versatile and essential words in English, functioning as both noun and verb. As a noun, it denotes either the provision of what people need to survive and flourish — medical care, child care, elder care — or the attentive caution we apply to delicate tasks. As a verb, it expresses emotional investment: to care about someone is to be concerned with their welfare, while to care for them may mean to look after them or simply to like them. The word carries warm, humane connotations but also shades into anxiety, since our cares are often our worries. Its derivatives — careful, careless, caring, caretaker — show how central the concept is to how English speakers describe responsibility, diligence, and compassion. Few words sit so naturally at the meeting point of feeling and practical action.
The process of providing for someone's needs, especially their health and welfare; serious attention applied to a task; or a cause for concern or worry (usually in the plural).
"Good dental care begins in childhood."
In the plural, "cares" is somewhat formal or literary, meaning anxieties or responsibilities.
To feel concern, interest, or affection; to look after someone's needs; or (with "for") to have a liking for something, typically in negative constructions.
"She cares deeply about environmental issues."
In the sense of "to like," it appears almost exclusively in negatives or questions: "Would you care for tea?"
The plural is chiefly used in the literary sense of worries, troubles, or burdens, as in "free from worldly cares." For the everyday sense of attention or provision, the word is usually uncountable.
"After retiring, he shed the cares of office without regret."
The words "care" and "charity" are distant cousins — both descend from ancient roots about burden and love, so caring for someone has always been linked with carrying something for them.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of care
"Care" comes from Old English "caru," meaning sorrow, anxiety, or grief, which derives from Proto-Germanic *karō, a root shared by German "Sorge"-related forms and other Germanic languages. The word originally emphasized worry and burden rather than positive attention; the sense of diligent attention developed later in Middle English. It is related to "chary" (cautious), and through Latin, to "charity" via a broader Indo-European root associated with love and concern.
Word family
Usage notes
"Care for" can mean either to look after someone (formal/neutral) or to like something, usually in the negative ("I don't care for it"). In American English, compounds like "caregiver" are common, while British English favors "carer." The plural "cares" is literary, meaning worries or burdens.
Don't confuse with
Care means attention or concern, while cure refers to a remedy that ends an illness or problem.
Care is the abstract noun of concern; carer (chiefly British) is a person who looks after someone.