cares - Master This Word
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cares Word Meanings
- concern for someone or something
- to feel interest or importance
- to provide for someone’s needs
cares Example Sentences
Example sentences are the start of understanding. Don't rush to memorize. First feel how the word works in a sentence.
cares Phonetic & Pronunciation
UK
/kɛə/
US
/kɛr/
cares Word Etymology
Root: car- = to be anxious, to be concerned. Historical origin: Latin → Old French → English. Memory image: Picture a tender caregiver holding a child close, embodying love and concern.
Note 1: These definitions and etymologies are not standard dictionary definitions, but extended explanations provided to help with memorization and understanding of the actual application of words. Through this background information, we strive to make words more vivid and easier to understand, and help you remember their meanings in real life.
Note 2: LexiTalk designs the learning flow around the linguistics principle of “Comprehensible Input.” When learners encounter material that is slightly above their level but still understandable from context, the brain naturally absorbs the language. That’s why we keep every word inside authentic contexts, using examples and associations to help you understand it and use it flexibly.
Read the FAQ explanation of Comprehensible InputEnglish Brain Route
I reach out and move a blanket to cover the shoulders of someone I care for. I hold still and lean in a bit, listening to what they say. I adjust my posture and tone, trying not to hurry them, keeping eye contact. That small care appears as a decision in action, guiding what I do next to support them.
Real Context
Care is a flexible English word that covers both concern for someone or something and practical responsibility for meeting needs. As a noun, it signals attention, consideration, and support given to people, tasks, or situations. As a verb, it means to feel interest or concern and to provide for someone’s needs, physically or emotionally. Learners often mix up take care of, care for, and care about. Take care of emphasizes duties and physical provision; care for can express affection or guardianship; care about expresses feelings or opinions. Common collocations include care about someone’s feelings, care for a pet, and show you care.
Usage Reminders
- Care about expresses concern for feelings or opinions.
- Care for can mean to like or to look after someone or something.
- Take care of emphasizes duties or physical provision.
- Care (noun) refers to concern or attention; be careful with 'a care' in everyday speech.
- Use take care as a common farewell; practice care about, care for, and take care of in context.
Common Misconceptions
- Care about is only for feelings, not for physical things.
- Care for and care about are interchangeable in all contexts.
- Take care of always means you personally do something for someone.
- I don't care always means you are hostile or angry.
- Care as a noun can freely be used as 'a care' in everyday speech.
Thinking Differences
English encodes care with flexible phrasal patterns; learners must choose care about, care for, or take care of based on whether the meaning is emotional concern, affection/guardianship, or practical supervision.
Learning Tips
- Learn the three core patterns: care about, care for, and take care of.
- Create pairings with people, pets, and objects to see how meaning shifts.
- Keep a small list of go-to collocations (care about feelings, take care of a child).
- Notice the noun vs verb forms; imagine sentences in different tenses.
- Practice farewell usage: 'Please take care.'
- Use short drills with quick questions to decide which form fits.
Related Listening
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