care

/kɛə/

//kɛə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"care" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“care” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #247 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#247
frequency rank, English
4
letters
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Close attention; concern; responsibility.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

care vs CR
0% similar
care vs CE
0% similar
care vs cat
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for care
PropertyValue
Headwordcare
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɛə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#247
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “care” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). care lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for care is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kɛə/. Corpus data places it at rank #247 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for care, with forms such as "caer", "carre", and "ccare". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "CR", "CE", "cat", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 Sa… The correct English form is care, spelled C-A-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Close attention; concern; responsibility.
  2. 2
    Worry.
  3. 3
    Maintenance, upkeep.
  4. 4
    The treatment of those in need (especially as a profession).
  5. 5
    The state of being cared for by others.
  6. 6
    The object of watchful attention or anxiety.
  7. 7
    Grief, sorrow.

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.

This word in other languages

cuidado(Español)souci(Français)Sorge(Deutsch)cuidado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: caer,carre,ccare,crae

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of care - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

caer2carre1ccare1crae2
Edit distance from "care"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "care"?
"care" is spelled C-A-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kɛə/.
What does "care" mean?
As a noun, "care" means: Close attention; concern; responsibility.
What words are commonly confused with "care"?
"care" is commonly confused with "CR", "CE", "cat". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "care"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "care" is /kɛə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "care"?
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 w... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “care”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-A-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /kɛə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “CR” - see the side-by-side comparison. care vs CR
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list