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” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #247) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#247
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Close attention; concern; responsibility.

Corpus desk

Index EN-care · care · English

care · rank #247 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #247
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH business

Nearest frequency peer: business (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “care”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “care” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

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.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for care is neighbouring look-alikes ("CR", "CE", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /kɛə/. Frequency #247 among 5,599 “C” headwords. 7 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how care appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Care should be taken when holding babies.
  2. I thank thee for thy care and honest pains.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "care", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

week#251case#255done#236full#262

What to do next

You've looked up "care". Here's where to go from here.

  • "care" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "CR". View pair
  • 4 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #247 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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