Wiktionary

caretaker

English

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Etymology

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From care +‎ taker.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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caretaker (plural caretakers)

  1. Someone who takes care of a place or thing; someone looking after a place, or responsible for keeping it in good repair.
    Hyponyms: groundskeeper, groundsman, warden, sexton
    Her dad was a cemetery caretaker for many years. There was a lot of landscaping work. The gravedigging itself was done with backhoes.
    • 1967, Barbara Sleigh, Jessamy, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, published 1993, →ISBN, page 11:
      ‘Miss Brindle must be very rich to live in such a big house,’ went on Jessamy. ‘Miss Brindle rich?’ said Aunt Maggie. ‘Bless you, she hasn’t tuppence to rub together. She’s only the caretaker.’
  2. (occasionally) A caregiver (person who provides care to another).

Usage notes

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Using the word caretaker where the caregiver sense was meant is widely considered a catachresis (albeit mild); for example, AP style (of the Associated Press) advises to maintain this usage distinction.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Adjective

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caretaker (not comparable)

  1. (chiefly UK) Temporary, on a short term basis.
    Synonym: interim
    Johnson had to be drafted in as the caretaker manager after Hewlett resigned without warning the day before the final.
    • 2023 November 15, Sam Jones, “Acting Spanish PM on verge of second term after controversial Catalan amnesty deal”, in The Guardian‎[1], →ISSN:
      Sources within Sánchez’s caretaker administration claim the amnesty law is perfectly in keeping with the Socialist-led government’s efforts to calm tensions and find a political solution to the so-called Catalan question.

Derived terms

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Translations

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