curate

American  

[kyoor-it, kyoo-rayt, kyoor-ayt] / ˈkjʊər ɪt, kjʊˈreɪt, ˈkjʊər eɪt /

noun

1. Chiefly British. a member of the clergy employed to assist a rector or vicar.

2. any ecclesiastic entrusted with the cure of souls, as a parish priest.

---

verb (used with object)

curated, curating

1. to take charge of (a museum) or organize (an art exhibit).

   to curate a photography show.

2. 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.

curate ¹ British  

/ ˈkjʊərɪt /

noun

1. a clergyman appointed to assist a parish priest

2. a clergyman who has the charge of a parish ( curate-in-charge )

3. an assistant barman

---

curate ² British  

/ kjʊəˈreɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to be in charge of (an art exhibition or museum)

---

Other Word Forms

• curateship
  noun
• curation
  noun
• subcurate
  noun
• curatic
  adjective
• curatical
  adjective

---

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

curate curated curating

They not only restock shelves and work the register, but curate outfits for shoppers and freely offer their takes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

He’ll conduct and curate subscription concerts and multidisciplinary projects.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026

Smartphones have fooled us into thinking that we curate what our screens show us.

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026

Recommendation algorithms are the tools that Meta uses to automatically curate the content a user sees on its platforms.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

As a mere curate, John Hooke was far from wealthy, and he already had two other children, Katherine, born in 1628, and John, born in 1630.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

On Instagram, she has curated her life to look idyllic, but perhaps she'll get a more generous hearing now that her back story is as messy and imperfect as everyone else's.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

Ertel, an interior designer, painstakingly curated the room.

From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2026

“You Can See Everything” directors Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim may have fallen into Holmes’ carefully curated trap, Shultz warns in a new essay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

And when I emailed a wedding photographer whose Instagram feed seemed perfectly curated to how I envision our special day, he quoted me $30,000 for a starter package.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 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

Countless others have stories of being confronted by social media content they didn't seek out, and didn't want to see – and there's long been suspicions the algorithms curating these platforms are harming users.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

During a panel about the relationship between fashion and food, Onwuachi discussed curating the menu for the 2025 MET Gala, whose theme was “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026

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

In the months leading up to the 250th anniversary, they decided to bring the Morrison salons they were curating in Cleveland to all 88 Ohio counties.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

The company said it plans to focus on leveraging its retail model and curating product portfolios and experiences to meet the needs of high-income consumers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---