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
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
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.
"Right away, I knew it was something really special," says Voight, curator emerita of invertebrates at the Field Museum in Chicago and the lead author of the study describing the new species.
From Science Daily • May 25, 2026
At first the curator at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago had to make do with photos of the animal.
From Barron's • May 25, 2026
He soon was convinced that the thief was a longtime curator at the museum.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
“It’s hard to create a periodization in a cultural moment,” says museum chief curator Cate Thurston.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
They also got in touch with Terry Sharrer, a curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, who invited the Lacks family to a small event at the museum.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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.
