curator
Americannoun
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the person in charge of a museum, art collection, etc.
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a person who selects content for presentation, as on a website.
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a manager; superintendent.
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Law. a guardian of a minor or any other person who is unable to care for their own affairs, especially with regard to their property.
noun
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the administrative head of a museum, art gallery, or similar institution
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law a guardian of a minor, mentally ill person, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of curator
First recorded in 1325–75; from Latin, equivalent to cūrā(re) “to care for, attend to” ( see cure) + -tor -tor
Explanation
If you are the curator of the school art show, you choose which pieces will be in it and decide how they will be displayed. A curator is someone who manages an art collection or exhibit. The kind of artwork a curator manages does not have to be the visual kind. You can curate a series of readings by selecting which authors read in it and who reads together. A curator is the person who gives the overall shape and feel to an art exhibit. In law, if you are the curator of someone's estate, you have been given legal power to manage it for someone who is too young or mentally unable to do it themselves.
Vocabulary lists containing curator
Aru Shah and the End of Time
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The Red Pyramid
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The Boys Who Challenged Hitler
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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.
Curator Beverly Adams said ropes, scaffolding and draping blue fabric will be used to create theatrical set pieces around the show’s seven Kahlo works and dozen-odd Riveras.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
Curator Fathiya Abdallah Ahmad is among a handful of people who knew the location of secret, sealed rooms where the museum's treasures were taken into hiding for more than a decade.
From Barron's • Dec. 31, 2025
Co-author Dr. Kenny Travouillon, Curator of Terrestrial Zoology at the Western Australian Museum, said the team used detailed bone measurements to better understand the number and variety of woylie species.
From Science Daily • Dec. 13, 2025
“There are no immediate plans to replace Pilar’s role as Chief Curator and Deputy Director of Curatorial and Collections,” wrote interim Chief Executive Jim Gianopulos in an email obtained by The Times.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025
Two days later there was an answer from the Curator.
From "Mr. Popper's Penguins" by Florence Atwater and Richard Atwater
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.
