care less
1 of 2phrase
: not to care
—used positively and negatively with the same meaning
I could care less what happens. = I couldn't care less what happens.
1
a
: free from care : untroubled
careless days
b
: indifferent, unconcerned
careless of the consequences
2
: not taking care
My brother was too careless of his charge.—
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare3
: not showing or receiving care:
b
: unstudied, spontaneous
a careless grace
a careless glance
c
obsolete
: unvalued, disregarded
carelessly
adverb
carelessness
noun
Examples of care less in a Sentence
Adjective
He is a careless worker.
She was careless with my things.
It was a careless mistake.
a newspaper known for careless reporting
Recent Examples on the Web
Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 11 May 2026
Harden believed a number of his turnovers were careless.
—Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 6 May 2026
Stewart’s successor, Mayor Bobby Sanchez, a Democrat, suspended Blogoslawski in February amid allegations of improprieties, including the careless handling of cash and the backdating of tax payments to avoid interest penalties.
—Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 30 Apr. 2026
More likely the difference was in the turnover column – 15 for the Lakers, which led to 18 Houston points, including several errors that seemed careless and one sequence early in the fourth quarter at the offensive end in which the ball was flying all over the place.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for care less
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
The line is crossed when content becomes synthetic, repetitive or careless.
—Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 11 May 2026
Harden believed a number of his turnovers were careless.
—Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 6 May 2026
Stewart’s successor, Mayor Bobby Sanchez, a Democrat, suspended Blogoslawski in February amid allegations of improprieties, including the careless handling of cash and the backdating of tax payments to avoid interest penalties.
—Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 30 Apr. 2026
More likely the difference was in the turnover column – 15 for the Lakers, which led to 18 Houston points, including several errors that seemed careless and one sequence early in the fourth quarter at the offensive end in which the ball was flying all over the place.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for care less
Cite this Entry
“Care less.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/care%20less. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
careless
adjective
care·less
ˈke(ə)r-ləs 
ˈka(ə)r-
1
: free from care : not troubled
2
: not taking proper care
a careless worker
3
: done, made, or said without proper care
a careless mistake
carelessly
adverb
carelessness
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
