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Glite Dictionary
to care a pin

to care a pin

9.9
To not mind something at all
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : importar un comino
  • He wouldn't care a pin whether she attends the meeting or not.

Examples

  • She cares a pin about the new fashion trends; she wears whatever she likes.

  • By the world, i would not care a pin if the other three were in.

    Love's Labour's Lost (2000)

  • They do not care a pin about the negative reviews of their movie.

Synonyms

to give a damn
vsto care a pin
  • NSFW
172 8.8

To not care at all about someone or something

indicates lack of concern but with softer, less coarse phrasing
to give a rip
vsto care a pin
  • Slang
2 9.5

To not care at all about something

expresses little or no concern but in milder language
to don't care a button
vsto care a pin
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To not care at all

is similarly about indifference but with milder tone
to care a hang
vsto care a pin
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To feel no interest or worry at all about something

is the basic phrase meaning little or no concern without emphasis
to give a monkey's
vsto care a pin
  • Slang
1 9.9

To not care at all about something, usually in negative sentences

means lack of care but is more playful than the key
to care a jackstraw
vsto care a pin
  • Archaic
9.9

To feel no interest or concern about something

is the same lack of concern but slightly more common in usage
to give a hang
vsto care a pin
  • Archaic
9.3

To not care at all about something, used only in negative sentences

focuses on lack of concern but less tied to negative forms
to care a lottle
vsto care a pin
  • UK
9.9

Not be very interested in something, said as a joke

means little or no concern but is more neutral and standard

Antonyms

to care
∞ 1.0

To feel that someone or something matters to you

How Caring

to care
∞ 1.0
concerned
∞ 2.2
indifference
71 4.6
to care a pin
  • Archaic
9.9

Surface Forms

care a pin infinitive

Morphology

care + a + pin

The sense 'to care very little' is partially derivable from 'care' (concern) plus 'pin' (a very small object) where smallness functions metaphorically as a measure of negligible amount. However, using a concrete small object as a degree marker is somewhat idiomatic and relatively rare/dated, so the exact idiomatic use may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without prior exposure.

Etymology

Care a pin may come from the picture of a tiny pin, a very small object worth almost nothing. To say you care a pin means you do not care even about that tiny thing, so it now means 'to care very little'.