ordinary care
1
3.8
- noun
- /ˈɔrdəˌnɛri kɛr/
- Formal
:
cuidado ordinario
- In legal cases, determining whether someone acted with ordinary care can affect the outcome of a negligence claim.
Examples
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The teacher emphasized the importance of using ordinary care when handling laboratory equipment to ensure student safety.
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The defendant's failure to secure his Internet access account, thereby allowing for its illegal use, constitutes a breach of the ordinary care that a reasonable Internet account holder would exercise under like circumstances.
Blog text (34) -
Parental involvement and education work best, along with ordinary care.
Blog text (14) -
The instructions include phrases like "reasonably foreseen" and "ordinary care."
Blog text (16) -
Advocates of the bill were primarily concerned with the number of babies born afflicted... with blindness which could have been prevented by ordinary care and intelligence.
Academic text (2016) -
In addition, comments by the judge indicated that the student teacher might be guilty of "ineffective observation and attention... when ordinary care or supervision would have prevented..." the occurrence.
Academic text (1995) -
The failure of a teacher or coach to exercise that degree of reasonable or ordinary care and skill in the performance of their profession that is normally exercised by a teacher or coach engaged in the same line of work (p. 361).
Academic text (1991) -
As reading and rereading the passage with ordinary care is apt to shed little light, it is useful to step back and consider more broadly whether the steps that have left us between the proverbial rock and a hard place were well taken in the first place.
Academic text (2002) -
In finding the landlord liable, the Missouri Court of Appeals reasoned that "the exercise of ordinary care where children are concerned requires more vigilance and caution than might be required with respect to an adult."
Academic text (1995) -
The court ruled that the driver failed to exercise ordinary care by not paying attention to the road conditions.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Looking after something to keep it in good condition
1
3.8
Enough careful attention a sensible person gives in a situation to avoid harm
1
5.0
A level of careful attention a sensible person shows in a situation, often required by law
How Careful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines 'ordinary' (usual, normal) with 'care' (caution), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it means the usual or normal level of caution; the specific legal framing as a negligence standard is a technical extension but does not block inferability. The adjective+noun composition is cross-linguistically common and follows regular English patterns, making the core meaning transparently derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
Ordinary care gives a simple picture: ordinary means normal and care means careful attention, like when you look both ways before crossing the street. So, 'ordinary care' means the 'usual level of attention' a sensible person would use in the same situation.