CARIES

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does caries mean? 

• CARIES (noun)
  The noun CARIES has 1 sense:

1. soft decayed area in a tooth; progressive decay can lead to the death of a tooth

  Familiarity information: CARIES used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CARIES (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Soft decayed area in a tooth; progressive decay can lead to the death of a tooth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

caries; cavity; dental caries; tooth decay

Hypernyms ("caries" is a kind of...):

decay (the process of gradually becoming inferior)

Derivation:

carious ((of teeth) affected with cavities or decay)

 Context examples 

An abnormal tissue change in a tooth that does not involve caries.

(Non-Carious Tissue Change, NCI Thesaurus)

Low incidence of dental caries.

(BUF, Rat Strain, NCI Thesaurus)