care for

phrasal verb

cared for; caring for; cares for

: 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?

: to feel affection for (someone)

I got the feeling he never really cared for me.

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.

somewhat formal : to want (something)

Would you care for some pie?

Examples of care for in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Luke Brenner, a fitness-focused, all American hero firefighter finds a baby on the doorstep of his fire house with a note specifically asking him to care for the child until Christmas. —

Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 25 Apr. 2024 This is why knowing the specific makeup of four-legged friends gives us the knowledge to care for them to the best of our ability. —

Stack Commerce, Popular Science, 24 Apr. 2024 Abu Odeh had to chase after overwhelmed doctors, and try to care for her son based on her pharmaceutical training. —

Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2024 Supreme Court allows Idaho to enforce ban on gender-affirming care for minors The stakes in the case are significant. —

Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 24 Apr. 2024 Replying to my questions, Robin keeps having to pause to take phone calls from a nurse caring for her ill, elderly aunt. —

R. O. Kwon, TIME, 22 Apr. 2024 State officials also earmarked $2.4 billion to care for an influx of international migrants who have overwhelmed New York City's homeless shelters. —

Maysoon Khan and Anthony Izaguirre, Quartz, 20 Apr. 2024 The upside is the ability to attract students who work full time or care for children, but online courses also run the risk of increasing isolation at a time when technology and working from home are already creating a lot more of it than was previously the case. —

Matt Krupnick, The Arizona Republic, 13 Apr. 2024 In February, the former couple reached a temporary agreement that said that Jeezy would have Monaco in his care for a week, once every month. —

Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'care for.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.