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caret

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caret¹

  • /ˈkæɹ.ɪt/ UK
  • /ˈkæɹ.ət/ UK
  • /ˈkæɹ.ɪt/ US
  • /ˈkæɹ.ət/ US
  • /ˈkɛɹ.ɪt/ US
  • /ˈkɛɹ.ət/ US

Sounds like carat, karat, carrot (weak vowel merger) · Rhymes with -æɹɪt, -æɹət

Where it comes from

From the Latin caret (“it lacks”), the third-person singular present active indicative form of careō (“to lack”).

noun carets

  1. A mark ⟨ ‸ ⟩ used by writers and proofreaders to indicate that something is to be inserted at that point.
  2. An exponentiation symbol or operator ⟨＾⟩.
  3. An indicator, often a blinking line or bar and usually called a cursor, indicating where the next insertion or other edit will take place.
  4. nonstandard A circumflex ⟨ ˆ ⟩.
  5. nonstandard A háček ⟨ ˇ ⟩. […] the more conventional semivocalic j and the caret (ˇ) respectively.

caret²

  • /kəˈɹɛt/
  • /ˈkæɹ.ɪt/ UK
  • /ˈkæɹ.ət/ UK
  • /ˈkæɹ.ɪt/ US
  • /ˈkæɹ.ət/ US
  • /ˈkɛɹ.ɪt/ US
  • /ˈkɛɹ.ət/ US

Sounds like carat, karat, carrot (weak vowel merger) · Rhymes with -æɹɪt, -æɹət

Where it comes from

Borrowed from French caret.

noun carets

  1. archaic A kind of turtle, the hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata).

Translations

Every language

noun symbol

Españolsigno de intercalación
Portuguêsacento circunflexo
Françaiscirconflexe
DeutschEinschaltungszeichen, Zirkumflex, Dach, Einfügezeichen, Exponent-Operator

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Cite this
MLA

"caret." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/caret. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

caret. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/caret

Chicago

"caret." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/caret.

BibTeX
@misc{caret_2026,
  title = {caret},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/caret},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}