English

Verb

care for ‎(third-person singular simple present cares for, present participle caring for, simple past and past participle cared for)

1. (transitive) To attend to the needs of, especially in the manner of a nurse or personal aide.

   I cared for my ailing mother for five years.

2. (transitive) To like or appreciate; to consider to be appealing, tasteful, or suitable.
   • 1719, Jonathan Swift, "To Dr. Sheridan" (14 Dec.), in The Poems of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Vol. 2 (ed. W. E. Browning):

     Mrs. Dingley and Mrs. Johnson say, truly they don't care for your wife's company, though they like your wine.

   • 1919, Virginia Woolf, Night and Day, ch. 5:

     "Do you really care for this kind of thing?" he asked at length.

   • 2006, Unmesh Kher, "Whale On the Plate," Time, 17 April:

     Still, while most Japanese may not care for the meat, many object to calls to stop whaling.

Synonyms

• (to like or appreciate): think much of
• (to see to): besee

Usage notes

• In the sense of like or appreciate, often used in negative constructions, as in: I do not care for chocolate.

References

• care for at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• forearc