# caret

Pronunciation: say "KAR-it" /ˈkæɹ.ɪt/

## Noun

1. A mark ⟨ ‸ ⟩ used by writers and proofreaders to show that something should be inserted at that point in the text.
   - Simple: A small mark ⟨ ‸ ⟩ that shows where a missing word or letter should be added in writing.
   - _The editor drew a caret under the line and wrote the missing word above it._
   - _Her returned essay had carets wherever the instructor wanted words added._
2. A symbol ⟨^⟩ used as an exponentiation operator, as in 2^8.
   - Simple: The symbol ^ used in math on computers to mean 'to the power of.'
   - _In many programming languages and on many calculators, the caret serves as the exponentiation operator._
   - _He wrote x^2 with a caret because the plain-text editor couldn't display superscripts._
3. An indicator on a screen, often a blinking vertical bar and commonly called a cursor, that marks where the next text insertion or edit will occur.
   - Simple: The blinking line on a screen that shows where the next letter you type will appear.
   - _Press the arrow keys to move the caret through the document without touching the mouse._
   - _When the dialog opens, the caret appears in the search field, ready for input._
4. A circumflex accent ⟨ ˆ ⟩, the angled mark written above a letter in some languages. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: A small mark ⟨ ˆ ⟩ shaped like a little roof that goes above a letter in some languages.
   - _The caret over the a in 'château' marks where an s once stood in older French._
   - _English 'hotel' dropped the caret that French 'hôtel' still carries over the o._
5. A háček ⟨ ˇ ⟩, the inverted-v mark written above a letter in languages such as Czech. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: A mark ⟨ ˇ ⟩ shaped like a small open v that sits above a letter in some languages.
   - _The caret over the S in 'Škoda' changes the sound to 'sh.'_
   - _Her surname keeps its caret over the z even on her American paperwork._

## Noun

6. The hawksbill, a sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) with a narrow, hooked beak and overlapping, patterned shell plates. *(archaic)* (pronounced: say "kuh-RET" /kəˈɹɛt/)
   - Simple: A sea turtle with a pointed beak like a bird's, today called the hawksbill.
   - _The ship's log noted that the crew took a caret off the reef and sold its shell in port._
   - _Island traders prized carets for the patterned plates of their shells._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–5** — From the Latin caret ("it lacks"), the third-person singular present active indicative form of careō ("I lack").
**Meaning 6** — From French caret.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/caret (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).