# careful

/ˈkɛɹfəɫ/ (US) · /kˈeəfəl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/careful
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. cautious and safe

adjective · CEFR A2

thinking about what you are doing so that you do not have an accident or cause damage.

For teachers: exercising caution to avoid physical danger, injury, or damage.

- Please be careful with that glass vase because it is very expensive.
- The mountain guide warned the hikers to be careful of loose rocks as they navigated the narrow ridge.

### 2. precise and thorough

adjective · CEFR B1

giving a lot of attention to details to make sure something is correct.

For teachers: showing great attention to detail; meticulous and thorough in execution.

- After a careful check of the numbers, she found the mistake in the report.
- A careful analysis of the data revealed several trends that the initial research team had completely overlooked.

## Examples

- Please be careful with that glass vase.
- You need to be careful when driving on these narrow, icy mountain roads at night.
- A careful analysis of the financial records revealed several small but significant discrepancies that the previous auditors had overlooked during their initial review.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.