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PlainSpell

care

/kɛɚ/noun, verb

care is spelled C-A-R-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 363 times per million words in written English, the 250th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, care means “Close attention; concern; responsibility” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of care is cares.

How many letters and syllables are in care?

Letters4: C-A-R-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing363 times per million words; the 250th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is care?

Care appears 363 times per million words in written English, the 250th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce care?

  • UK /kɛə/
  • US /kɛɚ/
  • US [kʰe(ə̯)ɹ]

Care has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-care.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with care?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as care from its last stressed vowel (/ɛəɹ/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: race, acre, acer, caer.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of care

  • cares plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • caring participle, present
  • cared participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does care mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Close attention; concern; responsibility.

    Care should be taken when holding babies.

  2. 2

    Worry.

    I don’t have a care in the world.

  3. 3

    Maintenance, upkeep.

    dental care

  4. 4

    The treatment of those in need (especially as a profession).

  5. 5

    UKThe state of being cared for by others.

    in care

  6. 6

    The object of watchful attention or anxiety.

  7. 7

    obsoleteGrief, sorrow.

verb

  1. 1

    To be concerned (about), to have an interest (in); to feel concern (about).

    She doesn’t care what you think.

  2. 2

    To want, to desire; to like; to be inclined towards or interested in.

    Would you care for another slice of cake?

  3. 3

    informalTo be affected by, to treat as relevant for a subsequent course of action.

  4. 4

    (with for) To look after or look out for.

    Young children can learn to care for a pet.

  5. 5

    To mind; to object.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate care?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of care: SOC.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Care in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchsouci, soin (close attention, concern or responsibility), se soucier, s'intéresser (to be concerned about), soigner (to look after)
GermanSorge (close attention, concern or responsibility), sorgen, sich sorgen, sich kümmern (to be concerned about), kümmern (to look after), Pflege (treatment of those in need)
Portuguesecuidado (close attention, concern or responsibility), preocupar-se (to be concerned about), atendimento, assistência, tratamento (treatment of those in need), manutenção (maintenance, upkeep – see also maintenance)
Spanishcuidado, esmero, primor (close attention, concern or responsibility), importar, interesar (to be concerned about), cuidar (to look after)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does care come from?

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”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after care