careful
adjective/ˈkeəfl/
/ˈkerfl/
Word Family
Idioms - care noun verb
- careful adjective (≠ careless)
- carefully adverb (≠ carelessly)
- caring adjective (≠ uncaring)
- [not before noun] giving attention or thought to what you are doing so that you avoid hurting yourself, damaging something or doing something wrong
- Be careful!
- careful to do something I was careful to keep out of sight.
- He's been careful to avoid significant debt.
- careful not to do something Be careful not to wake the baby.
- careful when/what/how, etc. You must be careful when handling chemicals.
- Be careful what you say.
- careful of/with something Please be careful with my glasses (= Don't break them).
- Be careful of the traffic.
- careful about something As a young actor, you have to be extremely careful about the roles you accept.
- careful about doing something I’m very careful about washing my hands before eating (= I make sure I do it).
- careful (that)… Be careful you don't bump your head.
Express Yourself Warning people of dangerWarning people of dangerYou may need to tell somebody that they are in danger or advise them not to do something dangerous:- Look out! There's a car coming.
- Be careful. It can be quite dangerous on that path.
- Watch out for falling rocks!
- Make sure you keep hold of your bag.
- I wouldn't do that if I were you.
Extra ExamplesTopics Personal qualitiesa2- Be particularly careful when swimming in the lake.
- Bitter past experience had made her careful of what she confided to Nadia.
- He's very careful of his reputation.
- She was quite careful about how she spoke to him.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- make somebody
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- about
- of
- with
- …
Definitions on the go
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- giving a lot of attention to details
- After careful consideration we have decided to offer you the job.
- A successful party requires careful planning.
- He praised the careful attention to detail shown by the report's authors.
- She made a careful analysis of the evidence.
- Careful study of finds from archaeological sites has confirmed this theory.
- This is a very careful piece of work.
- A careful examination of the facts suggests a different conclusion.
Word OriginOld English carful (see care, -ful).
Idioms
See careful in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee careful in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishcareful with money
- not spending money on things that are unimportant
- His mother had always been careful with money.
you can’t be too careful
- used to warn somebody that they should take care to avoid danger or problems
- Don't stay out in the sun for too long—you can't be too careful.
Check pronunciation:
careful