cure

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈkjʊər/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/kjʊr/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(kyŏŏr)

Inflections of 'cure' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
cures
v 3rd person singular
curing
v pres p
cured
v past
cured
v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
cure /kyʊr/USA pronunciation   n., v., cured, cur•ing. 
n. [countable]
  1. Medicinea medicine or treatment to heal or restore health;
    remedy:a cure for cancer.
  2. Medicinesuccessful treatment that restores health:a complete cure.
  3. a means of correcting or relieving anything troublesome or harmful:a cure for inflation.

v. 
  1. Medicine to restore (someone) to health;
    heal:[+ object]Those little pills cured me completely.
  2. to relieve or rid of (an illness, problem, etc.):[+ object]We need to take drastic steps to cure unemployment.
  3. Food to prepare (meat, etc.) for preservation by smoking, salting, aging, etc.:[+ object]They cure the ham in a smokehouse.
  4. Chemistry (of meat, etc.) to undergo a process of preservation by smoking, salting, etc.:[no object]The meat cures for several months in the warehouse.
cur•er, n. [countable]See -cura-.

cu•ré /kyʊˈreɪ, ˈkyʊreɪ/USA pronunciation   n. [countable], pl. -rés. 
  1. Foreign Terms(in France) a parish priest.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
cure  (kyŏŏr),USA pronunciation n., v., cured, cur•ing. 
n. 
  1. Medicinea means of healing or restoring to health;
    remedy.
  2. Medicinea method or course of remedial treatment, as for disease.
  3. Medicinesuccessful remedial treatment;
    restoration to health.
  4. a means of correcting or relieving anything that is troublesome or detrimental:to seek a cure for inflation.
  5. Foodthe act or a method of preserving meat, fish, etc., by smoking, salting, or the like.
  6. Religionspiritual or religious charge of the people in a certain district.
  7. Religionthe office or district of a curate or parish priest.

v.t. 
  1. Medicineto restore to health.
  2. to relieve or rid of something detrimental, as an illness or a bad habit.
  3. Foodto prepare (meat, fish, etc.) for preservation by salting, drying, etc.
  4. to promote hardening of (fresh concrete or mortar), as by keeping it damp.
  5. Chemistryto process (rubber, tobacco, etc.) as by fermentation or aging.

v.i. 
  1. to effect a cure.
  2. to become cured.
  • Latin cūra
  • Old French cure
  • Latin cūrāre to take care of, derivative of cūra care; (noun, nominal) Middle English
  • Middle French curer
  • (verb, verbal) Middle English curen 1250–1300
cureless, adj. 
cureless•ly, adv. 
curer, n. 
    • 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged remedy, restorative, specific, antidote.
    • 9.See corresponding entry in Unabridged Cure, heal, remedy imply making well, whole, or right.
      Cure is applied to the eradication of disease or sickness:to cure a headache.Heal suggests the making whole of wounds, sores, etc.:to heal a burn.Remedy applies esp. to making wrongs right:to remedy a mistake.

cu•ré  (kyŏŏ rā, kyŏŏrā; Fr. ky rā),USA pronunciation n., pl. cu•rés 
    (kyŏŏ rāz, kyŏŏrāz; Fr. ky rā).USA pronunciation 
  1. Foreign Terms(in France) a parish priest.
  • French, Old French; modeled on Medieval Latin cūrātus parish priest; see curate
  • 1645–55

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
cure / kjʊə/
  1. (transitive) to get rid of (an ailment, fault, or problem); heal
  2. (transitive) to restore to health or good condition
  3. (intransitive) to bring about a cure
  4. (transitive) to preserve (meat, fish, etc) by salting, smoking, etc
  5. (transitive) to treat or finish (a substance) by chemical or physical means
  6. to vulcanize (rubber)
  7. (transitive) to assist the hardening of (concrete, mortar, etc) by keeping it moist
  1. a return to health, esp after specific treatment
  2. any course of medical therapy, esp one proved effective in combating a disease
  3. a means of restoring health or improving a condition, situation, etc
  4. the spiritual and pastoral charge of a parish
  5. a process or method of preserving meat, fish, etc, by salting, pickling, or smoking
Etymology: (n) C13: from Old French, from Latin cūra care; in ecclesiastical sense, from Medieval Latin cūra spiritual charge; (vb) C14: from Old French curer, from Latin cūrāre to attend to, heal, from cūra careˈcurelessˈcurer
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
curé / ˈkjʊəreɪ/
  1. a parish priest in France
Etymology: French, from Medieval Latin cūrātus; see curate1
'cure' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Collocations: cure [cancer, AIDS, polio], [found, try] a new cure (for), cured his [cancer, disease, insomnia], more...

Forum discussions with the word(s) "cure" in the title:


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