caress
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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to touch, pat, or stroke gently to show affection.
-
to touch or seem to touch lightly.
The breeze caressed the trees.
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to treat with favor, kindness, etc.
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
caresssimple
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caressessimple
-
have caressedperfect
-
has caressedperfect
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am caressingprogressive
-
are caressingprogressive
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is caressingprogressive
-
have been caressingperfect progressive
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has been caressingperfect progressive
Past
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caressedsimple
-
had caressedperfect
-
was caressingprogressive
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were caressingprogressive
-
had been caressingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of caress
First recorded in 1605–15; from French caresse, from Italian carezza, from unattested Vulgar Latin caritia, equivalent to Latin cār(us) “dear” + -itia suffix of abstract nouns; cf. charity
Explanation
To caress someone or something means to stroke it gently in a loving or affectionate manner. Don't you love to caress the soft fur of your pet hamster or cat? The word caress can be either a verb or a noun, both of which refer primarily to the affectionate petting or stroking of another. You can also use caress to mean any sort of kind or loving action, and it can be accomplished by things other than people. The soft wind can caress your skin as you walk towards the ocean’s edge. And who doesn't love the caress of smooth silk sheets against your skin when you get into bed?!
Vocabulary lists containing caress
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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The Secret Life of Bees
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"The Moustache" and "Who We Really Are"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Instead of the full-throated, Pavarotti-style belt that’s common in this repertoire, Mr. Pati makes a familiar song like “O sole mio” as gentle as a caress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2025
Longley said: "The first thing you notice here is the silence, and the caress of the sea air."
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2024
“Sometimes she’ll say, ‘Mariella,’ and she’ll caress my hand,” the pre-K teacher says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2023
“I, too, need Jesus to caress me, come close to me,” Francis said.
From New York Times ● Apr. 2, 2023
She unzipped the pocket and gave the whistle an almost invisible caress with her thumb.
From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu
In Ain Ebel's cemetery, Jallad caresses her son's tombstone, surrounded by women trying to comfort her.
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
We see Ella Fitzgerald at New York’s Basin Street East in the mid-1950s; her eyes closed, she gently leans into a microphone that she caresses with both hands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
D’Angelo asks that question — worries it, caresses it, plumbs its unseen depths — no fewer than two dozen times in what might have been his signature hit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2025
She picks up a doll with red hair and caresses it gently.
From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2023
I told her of the caresses I’d saved for her, the presents with which I’d planned to surprise her, the ways I would have loved her and made her happy.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Two girls, their faces streaked with tears, gently caressed the face of a dead man, wrapped in a sheet with a floral motif, and then hugged each other tightly.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2025
Number-three Pope arrived with the hosts 0-1 and caressed 121, adding 105 for the second wicket with Ben Duckett, who scored rapidly in the first hour.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2024
One study even showed that healthy young adults who caressed a robotic baby seal were happier, and felt less pain from a mild heat stimulus, than those who read an article about an astronomer.
From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2024
From being caressed by Drew Barrymore to shutting down Ozempic naysayers, and even lighting the Empire State Building, here’s everything Oprah managed to accomplish by Wednesday morning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2023
She reached down and grabbed his hand, caressed it, and gave him a look he’d never seen before.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
The couple posed for photos at the event, drawing attention to their gestating bundle of joy by framing and caressing Palvin’s belly.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
I even ponied up for a pay-per-view a few years back to see Mayweather spend eight rounds gently caressing Jake’s overmatched older brother, Logan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
Jareth is an illusionist as beguiling and seductive as he is sinister, caressing bubbles and gravity-defiant glass spheres with liquid grace.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026
The video, which was partly recorded inside the prison, shows him caressing a fighting cockerel and freely chatting to fellow inmates.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2025
Danny turned away from the window and began to play with his earlock again, caressing it and twirling it around his index finger.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.