curate
Americannoun
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Chiefly British. a member of the clergy employed to assist a rector or vicar.
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any ecclesiastic entrusted with the cure of souls, as a parish priest.
verb (used with object)
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to take charge of (a museum) or organize (an art exhibit).
to curate a photography show.
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to pull together, sift through, and select for presentation, as music or website content.
“We curate our merchandise with a sharp eye for trending fashion,” the store manager explained.
noun
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a clergyman appointed to assist a parish priest
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a clergyman who has the charge of a parish ( curate-in-charge )
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an assistant barman
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of curate
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English curat, from Anglo-French or directly from Medieval Latin cūrātus, equivalent to Latin cūr(a) “care” + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
When you curate something, you organize and present it. If you work for a museum, you might curate an exhibit of abstract sculpture. The noun curate originally referred to anyone taking care of church property in some way. Nowadays, the noun generally refers to a person with religious training who conducts religious services. Curate comes from the word cure, and a curate is supposed to cure that most important part of you — your soul. When you curate a museum exhibit — or a selection of 1980s fashion for your retro blog — you care for or manage it just as a curate cares for a parish.
Vocabulary lists containing curate
"A Modest Proposal," Vocabulary from the satire
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"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift
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Twelfth Night
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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:
Recommendation algorithms are the tools that Meta uses to automatically curate the content a user sees on its platforms.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Like Camallere, they used AI image generators to carefully curate each scene in the story.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Instead, Vargo opted to work with a custom builder she knew who could curate a home exactly to her liking.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 24, 2026
Lucas donated his collection to curate the Lucas Archives, which, in addition to “Star Wars,” will encompass props and production art from Lucasfilm projects, such as the “Indiana Jones” franchise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026
“Is that why the curate was dousing candles?”
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
He stresses that the entire architecture of chattel enslavement was curated by Western slave-owning powers, who simply utilised local actors to help carry out their plans.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
“A carefully curated palette of wood, stone, water, and light blurs the boundaries between indoors and out, creating an atmosphere of serenity and effortless connection to the landscape.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
When everybody can be a content creator, and the bar to entry gets lower, I think people are looking for things that are curated and good.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Some fragments of the Hillsborough meteorite will eventually be curated by the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, preserving the unusual material for future research.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
She stepped, sideways, into the next gallery over, a special curated exhibit on the theme of Madonna and Child.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Coldplay's Chris Martin is curating the extravaganza, a first for a football World Cup final and one that has raised concerns over how long the game's halftime break will be.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Millington, who is curating the exhibition, said she felt Birmingham had forgotten "this prince of pop art".
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
People are increasingly savvy about curating their finances, especially when they get hitched.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026
Whether she is the successor or not, the Kim regime is curating a public rollout to normalize a fourth generation of leadership.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 28, 2026
“We are curating the trajectory of who these women are about to become,” says Hampton, who refers to her celebrity-athlete clients as “kids” despite being only 36 herself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026
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.
