to take care of (someone)
4
1.2
- phrasal verb
- /teɪk kɛr ʌv/
:
cuidar de
- She decided to take care of her elderly neighbor after he fell ill.
- take care of someone else
Examples
-
Uh... to take care of someone?
-
I gotta take care of someone who's hurt here, in case you haven't noticed.
Fiction book (1997) -
It's when you decide to start taking care of someone else.
-
I need you to take care of someone.
-
Um, first you have to learn how to take care of yourself before you can take care of someone else.
Academic text (2006) -
They all concluded that taking care of someone else makes one feel good and that caring is helping each other.
Academic text (2002) -
In the first few seasons on the show, Charlie constantly struggles to believe that he will ever be good enough to take care of someone other than himself.
Academic text (2014) -
That's the same answer the Right gives on how to take care of someone who is seriously ill and whose medical coverage got terminated.
Blog text (24) -
I've been taking care of someone who shall remain nameless, washing her, cooking her meals.
-
There you go again, always taking care of someone else—your children, your aging parents, a sick relative or friend, an out-of-work sibling.
Blog text (4)
Synonyms
∞
1.3
To look after a person or thing and deal with their needs
∞
1.3
To look after someone or deal with a problem
∞
1.0
To look after someone or something so they stay safe and well
472
1.1
Take care of someone or something to keep them safe and working
347
1.0
Look after a sick or injured person and give them needed help
151
3.6
To take care of someone or something
Antonyms
How Caring
42
3.7
60
2.3
347
1.0
4
1.2
472
1.1
145
2.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to look after' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'take' (to assume responsibility) with 'care' (to look after), while 'of' simply links the action to the person. This verb + object composition is cross-linguistically common and follows standard English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrase take care of paints a simple picture: you take someone's care into your hands, like carrying their needs and worries so they are safe. So, to take care of someone means 'to look after' and 'provide for' them.