INDEX:
1. to look after someone
2. to look after a child until he or she has grown up
3. to look after a child who is not your own for a long time
4. someone who is paid to look after children
5. to look after someone by helping them
6. to not look after someone properly
7. to look after something
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ CHILD
↑ BABY
↑ DEFEND
↑ PROTECT
↑ SAFE
◆◆◆
1. to look after someone
▷ look after/take care of especially British /ˌlʊk ˈɑːftəʳǁ-ˈæf-, ˌteɪk ˈkeər əv/ [transitive phrasal verb/verb phrase]
to spend time with a child or with someone who is old or sick, and make sure they are safe and have the things they need :
▪ Can you look after the kids for me this afternoon?
▪ I’ve told you, I can’t come. There’s no one to look after Frieda.
▪ Jonathon has no idea what it means to take care of a baby all day long.
▪ We specialize in helping caregivers who take care of relatives in their own homes.
▷ care for somebody /ˈkeəʳ fəʳ somebody/ [transitive verb]
to look after someone who is very ill or very old by doing everything for them :
▪ Elsie had to leave her job to care for her sick father.
▪ St Helen’s Hospice, which cares for the terminally ill, is holding a special fund-raising week.
▪ It is one of the only charities to care for Aids patients and ex-prisoners.
▷ mind /maɪnd/ [transitive verb] British
to look after children for a short time while their parents are out doing something else :
▪ The woman who minds Pip and Emma collects them from school and gives them an evening meal.
▪ Mothers who work part-time are able to mind other people’s children when they are not working.
▷ babysit also sit American /ˈbeɪbisɪt, sɪt/ [intransitive verb]
to look after children in the evening while their parents go out somewhere, especially when they pay you a small amount of money for doing this :
▪ I’ll ask Jane to babysit on Wednesday night.
▪ Ask Alex and Joan next time you’re babysitting.
babysit for
▪ He used to babysit for Mary when she worked nights.
▪ Jenny sat for us last Friday evening when we went to the movies.
▷ keep an eye on /ˌkiːp ən ˈaɪ ɒn/ [verb phrase]
to stay with a child and watch them to see that they are safe, especially for a short time :
▪ Benjy, I want you to stay in the yard where I can keep an eye on you.
▪ Would you mind keeping an eye on Stacey while I go for a cigarette?
keep a close/careful/watchful eye on somebody
▪ He warned parents to continue to keep a close eye on their children.
▷ nurse /nɜːʳs/ [transitive verb]
to look after someone who is ill and to make them well again or to make them comfortable :
▪ Tony nursed his wife through her long illness without ever complaining.
▪ Irina had wanted to nurse him, but the doctors had sent her away.
nurse somebody back to health
look after a sick person until they are well again
▪ The monks tended his wounds and nursed him back to health.
▷ carer British /caregiver American /ˈke ə rəʳ, ˈkeəʳˌgɪvəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who looks after another person who is too young or ill to look after himself or herself - used especially on official forms, in official letters, in newspapers etc :
▪ Hospital staff can provide additional home support for carers.
▪ We have a high number of volunteer carers at the day centre.
▪ Like many caregivers, Marian gave up her job to provide 24-hour care for an elderly relative.
2. to look after a child until he or she has grown up
▷ bring up/raise /ˌbrɪŋ ˈʌp, reɪz/ []
to look after children until they have grown up and to teach them to develop particular beliefs and ways of behaving :
bring somebody up/raise somebody
▪ She had brought him up as if he were her own son.
bring up somebody/raise somebody
▪ I don’t need you to tell me how to bring up my son.
▪ For five years we were neighbors, and we raised our kids together.
be brought up (by somebody)/be raised (by somebody)
▪ His father died when he was seven, and he was brought up by his mother.
▪ I was born and raised in Alabama.
brought up to do something
taught to believe, think, or act in a particular way
▪ I was brought up to trust people.
▪ My parents brought me up to be truthful.
brought up a Catholic/Christian etc
brought up to believe in the Catholic/Christian religion
▪ I was raised a Catholic, but I don’t go to church anymore.
raise a family/children etc
▪ Grandpa raised a family of ten on seven dollars a week.
▪ We should raise our daughters to be as confident as our menfolk.
well-brought-up /ˌwel brɔːt ˈʌp◂/ [adjective]
▪ I was a very well-brought up young lady.
upbringing /ˈʌpbrɪŋɪŋ/ [singular noun]
▪ Your accent depends on where you live, your upbringing, that kind of thing.
have a strict/conventional/literary etc upbringing
▪ I had a strict religious upbringing.
▷ child-rearing /ˈtʃaɪld rɪ ə rɪŋ/ [uncountable noun]
the care of children while they are growing and developing - used especially in medical or educational contexts :
▪ Men, in general, are as good at child-rearing as women.
▪ Have you discussed child-rearing methods with your future husband?
▷ custody /ˈkʌstədi/ [uncountable noun]
the legal right to have your child living with you after your marriage has officially ended :
have/get/gain custody (of somebody)
▪ The father has custody in only 10% of cases.
▪ Fearing her uncle would gain custody of the child, she went into hiding.
▪ If you leave me, I’ll get custody of the kids, because everyone knows you’re sick.
award/grant somebody custody (of somebody)
▪ Waltman’s wife had been granted temporary custody of their child after her husband’s arrest.
lose custody (of somebody)
▪ I loved my three girls, and losing custody was the most traumatic thing that has ever happened to me.
joint custody
where both parents have equal rights to see and look after their child
▪ Tony insists he will seek joint custody of Joshua.
▷ residency /ˈrezɪd ə nsi, ˈrezəd ə nsi/ [uncountable noun]
the legal right and responsibility to look after a child in your own home after you are divorced :
▪ The courts awarded residency to Trisha’s father.
▪ The parent who has residency often loses touch with the other partner’s parents, meaning that the children lose one set of grandparents.
3. to look after a child who is not your own for a long time
▷ adopt /əˈdɒptǁəˈdɑːpt/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to legally and permanently take someone else’s child into your family and treat them as one of your own children :
▪ Chinese babies are the favorite choice of Americans adopting children from abroad.
▪ She had hoped to get pregnant, but when she failed, she and her husband decided to adopt.
▪ He discovered that his guardian, Aunt Mimi, had not legally adopted him.
▪ Teenagers who discover they were adopted often search for their biological parents when they are old enough.
adopted [adjective]
▪ Their two adopted daughters were the only Asians in the town.
▷ foster /ˈfɒstəʳǁˈfɔː-, ˈfɑː-/ [transitive verb]
to take another person’s child into your own family and look after them for a period of several weeks, months, or years, but without becoming their legal parent :
▪ Fostering a teenager is obviously different from fostering a small child.
▪ During my mother’s long illness I was fostered by a middle-aged couple on the other side of town.
foster [adjective only before noun]
foster care
▪ Half a million American children are in foster care at any given time.
foster home
▪ Steve went to live in a series of foster homes.
foster-parents
a husband and wife who foster children
▪ It is sometimes difficult to find suitable foster-parents for a lively ten-year-old.
foster mother/father
▪ He ran away after his foster-mother accused him of stealing.
foster-child
children who are fostered
▪ She added to her regular income by taking in foster-children.
▪ She finally adopted her foster-child, six-year old Shania.
foster-brother/foster-sister
a child who has been fostered by people who also have other children
▪ two New York subway cops who are also foster brothers
▷ guardian /ˈgɑːʳdiən/ [countable noun]
a person who has been legally appointed to look after a child whose parents are away or dead, or to look after someone who is too ill to be responsible for themselves :
▪ The court must obtain the consent of the child’s parent or guardian.
▪ Children under 17 will only be admitted in the company of a parent or adult guardian.
▪ Could you contact Mrs Smith’s guardians and tell them she’s been admitted to hospital?
legal guardian
▪ When Sara was 7, Aunt Maggie became her legal guardian.
▷ in care /ɪn ˈkeəʳ/ [adverb] British
a child who is in care does not live with his or her parents but is looked after in a special home paid for by the local council, for example because their own parents are dead or could not look after them properly :
▪ Many youngsters who’ve been brought up in care are often incapable of looking after themselves.
▪ The number of children in care in Oxfordshire is falling.
4. someone who is paid to look after children
▷ babysitter also sitter American /ˈbeɪbisɪtəʳ, ˈsɪtəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who is paid to look after children when their parents go out for the evening :
▪ I’ll come with you if I can get a babysitter for Friday.
▪ I guess we should have some snacks around for the sitter.
▷ childminder British /babysitter or sitter American /ˈtʃaɪldmaɪndəʳ, ˈbeɪbisɪtəʳ, ˈsɪtəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who is paid to look after children while their parents are at work :
▪ Sheila’s setting up in business as a registered childminder on a special list of childminders that have been approved by the authorities .
▪ I asked my childminder to do what I do when Laura is naughty.
▷ nanny /ˈnæni/ [countable noun]
a woman who is paid to look after someone else’s children, and who sometimes lives in the house with the family :
▪ He turned and flung himself into his nanny’s arms.
▪ I can’t afford a nanny.
▷ au pair /əʊ ˈpeəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone, usually a young person from a foreign country, who lives with a family and helps with work around the house and with looking after the children. Au pairs often do this kind of work in order to learn about another country and its language :
▪ Working as an au pair, I spend most of my time with young children, so I dress casually.
▪ Don’t worry, the au pair will clean it up.
▷ childcare/child care also day care American /ˈtʃaɪldkeəʳ, ˈdeɪ keəʳ/ [uncountable noun]
an arrangement in which young children are looked after during the day while their parents are at work :
▪ Even women in well-paid jobs, who can afford childcare, are faced with managing the home and a career.
▪ After-school childcare is an area of particular importance to many working mothers.
▪ How much does it cost an employer to provide daycare facilities?
childcare/daycare center
▪ She works in a daycare center.
in daycare
▪ Jordan’s been in daycare since he was six months old.
5. to look after someone by helping them
▷ look after especially British also take care of /ˌlʊk ˈɑːftəʳǁ-ˈæf-, ˌteɪk ˈkeər əv/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to make sure someone has everything they need and is safe and happy :
▪ We had a lovely time in Dorset. Susan looked after us very nicely. She’s a wonderful cook.
▪ Paul’s old enough to look after himself.
▪ Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.
be well looked after
always given everything you need
▪ Alex could see the horse had been well looked after.
▪ Don’t look so worried -- she’s being well looked after by the nurses.
take good care of somebody
be very careful in order to keep somebody healthy, happy, or safe
▪ Take good care of yourself while you’re away.
▪ They took very good care of me.
▪ The firm is getting a reputation for taking better care of its customers than in the past.
▷ attend to /əˈtend tuː/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to give someone the care and help that you regularly give them, especially as part of your job :
▪ Dr Gresham is busy at the moment attending to one of his patients.
▪ The cabin crew will attend to the passengers’ needs.
▪ They worked happily together, feeding and attending to the livestock.
▷ take somebody under your wing /ˌteɪk somebody ʌndəʳ jɔːʳ ˈwɪŋ/ [verb phrase]
to start to look after a younger or less experienced person in a friendly way with the intention of helping them or protecting them while they gain experience :
▪ Adrienne, eleven years older, had taken the 19-year-old singer under her wing.
▪ He had sized me up, he said, and had decided to take me under his wing.
6. to not look after someone properly
▷ neglect /nɪˈglekt/ [transitive verb]
to not look after someone properly, especially a child, although it is your responsibility to look after them :
▪ He was neglected by his parents when he was very young.
▪ Staff at the hostel were accused of neglecting and abusing children in their care.
▪ Some teachers devote too much time to helping their slower students and neglect the brighter ones.
neglect []
▪ increases in homelessness, child abuse and neglect
▪ He alleges that the orphanages have allowed children to die from medical neglect.
7. to look after something
▷ look after /ˌlʊk ˈɑːftəʳǁ-ˈæf-/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to keep something in good condition and make sure that it does not get broken, damaged, or stolen :
▪ You can have a new bike for Christmas if you promise to look after it.
▪ You could see someone had been looking after the garden, even though the house had been empty for years.
▪ The miniature railway is looked after by local volunteers.
look after something for somebody
▪ You don’t mind looking after the place for me while I’m away, do you?
▷ keep an eye on /ˌkiːp ən ˈaɪ ɒn/ [verb phrase] especially spoken
to look after something that belongs to someone else for a short time, by watching it to make sure that it does not get stolen or damaged :
▪ Tom went into the library while I kept an eye on the bikes.
▪ Does a neighbor keep an eye on your house while you are away?
▪ Can you keep an eye on my bags while I go to the toilet?
▷ maintain /meɪnˈteɪn, mən-/ [transitive verb]
to make sure that a car, machine, place, or building is in good condition by checking it and repairing it when necessary :
▪ Residents work in the downstairs shop, and also help to maintain the building.
▪ His role is to maintain the society’s fleet of vans, ready to respond in any emergency.
▪ An attempt was being made to maintain the grounds, but weeds were starting to grow in the driveway.
▷ maintenance /ˈmeɪnt ə nəns/ [uncountable noun]
the job of maintaining a car, building, place, or machine :
▪ A car is quite a big expense, especially when you consider maintenance.
▪ Because there had been no maintenance, the college buildings were in a poor state.
▪ the maintenance of public roads
routine maintenance
simple maintenance that must be done regularly
▪ Most gas appliances require routine maintenance once a year to ensure safety.
maintenance costs
the amount of money it costs to maintain something
▪ The city is paying $30,000 in annual maintenance costs.
▷ care /keəʳ/ [uncountable noun]
the work or process of looking after something in order to keep it in good condition :
care of
▪ She has become a leading expert on the care and maintenance of Renaissance paintings.
▪ Care of the environment has become a priority in government thinking.
▪ These photocopiers require a little extra care to keep them running right.
hair-care/skin-care etc
▪ hair-care products
▪ I’d advise you to follow a new skin care routine.
▷ upkeep /ˈʌpkiːp/ [uncountable noun]
the continuous process and cost involved in keeping something in good condition, especially a building or garden :
the upkeep of something
▪ The trustees are responsible for the upkeep of the bridge.
▪ The Council’s contribution towards the upkeep of the church is very much appreciated.
▪ You get more for your money if you buy an old house, but upkeep costs will be higher