care for

verb

cared for; caring for; cares for

1

: to do the things that are needed to help and protect (a person or animal) : look after (someone or something)

She cares for elderly patients.

Who is caring for your son while you are at work?

2

: to feel affection for (someone)

I got the feeling he never really cared for me.

3

somewhat formal : to like or enjoy (something)

—often used in negative statements

I don't care for jelly beans.

I don't care for your tone of voice.

4

somewhat formal : to want (something)

Would you care for some pie?

Examples of care for in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His latest feature film — the American’s first in 14 years — stars Pascal as Alex Serian, a gifted cellist who returns to Los Angeles after 20 years away to care for his ill mother. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2026

When Kavitha, a friend since childhood, attempts suicide, Selvi takes over her shifts on top of her own and spends her days moving between private homes, caring for families who know little about her. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026

Dwindling supplies of lifesaving medication In Tucson, María Chacon has been caring for her son Jesus for almost five years since a car accident at 17 left him unable to breathe on his own. — Mikella Schuettler, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026

Few contemporary authors embody that idea more than Becky Chambers, whose stories imagine alternative futures—not through grand revolutions or galaxy-spanning battles but through ordinary people trying to care for one another. — Sam MacDonald, Scientific American, 12 Oct. 2026

Rhymes for care for

• albacore
• alongshore
• antiwar
• anymore
• carnivore
• commodore
• dinosaur
• evermore
• furthermore
• guarantor
• herbivore
• heretofore