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• cure
  cure

  noun

  a means of healing or restoring to health; remedy.
• curé
  curé

  noun

  (in France) a parish priest.

cure

¹ American  

[kyoor] / kjʊər /

noun

cures plural

1. a means of healing or restoring to health; remedy.

2. a method or course of remedial treatment, as for disease.

   Synonyms:

   antidote, specific, restorative, remedy

3. successful remedial treatment; restoration to health.

4. a means of correcting or relieving anything that is troublesome or detrimental.

   The administration is seeking a cure for inflation.

5. the act or a method of preserving meat, fish, etc., by smoking, salting, or the like.

6. spiritual or religious charge of the people in a certain district.

7. the office or district of a curate or parish priest.

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verb (used with object)

cures, present (3rd person singular) cured, past participle, past curing present participle

1. to restore to health.

2. to relieve or rid of something detrimental, such as an illness or a bad habit.

3. to correct (a document, especially a mail-in ballot) in order to make it valid.

   If the voter’s signature is missing, the county board sends them a certification form allowing the voter to cure the ballot so it can be counted.

4. to prepare (meat, fish, etc.) for preservation by salting, drying, etc.

5. to promote hardening of (fresh concrete or mortar), as by keeping it damp.

6. to process (rubber, tobacco, etc.) as by fermentation or aging.

verb (used without object)

cures, present (3rd person singular) cured, past participle, past curing present participle

1. to effect a cure.

2. to become cured.

curé ² American  

[kyoo-rey, kyoor-ey, ky-rey] / kjʊˈreɪ, ˈkjʊər eɪ, küˈreɪ /

noun

curés plural

1. (in France) a parish priest.

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cure ¹ British  

/ kjʊə /

verb

1. (tr) to get rid of (an ailment, fault, or problem); heal

2. (tr) to restore to health or good condition

3. (intr) to bring about a cure

4. (tr) to preserve (meat, fish, etc) by salting, smoking, etc

5. (tr)

   1. to treat or finish (a substance) by chemical or physical means

   2. to vulcanize (rubber)

   3. to allow (a polymer) to set often using heat or pressure

6. (tr) to assist the hardening of (concrete, mortar, etc) by keeping it moist

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noun

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

   the cure of souls

5. a process or method of preserving meat, fish, etc, by salting, pickling, or smoking

curé ² British  

/ ˈkjʊəreɪ /

noun

1. a parish priest in France

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cure Idioms  

1. see kill or cure; ounce of prevention (is worth a pound of cure); sure cure.

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Synonym Usage

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 especially to making wrongs right: to remedy a mistake.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• curer
  noun
• cureless
  adjective
• half-cured
  adjective
• overcured
  adjective
• semicured
  adjective
• uncured
  adjective
• well-cured
  adjective
• curelessly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cures
  plural
• curés
  plural

Participles

• curing
  present
• cured
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cure
  simple
• cures
  simple
• have cured
  perfect
• has cured
  perfect
• am curing
  progressive
• are curing
  progressive
• is curing
  progressive
• have been curing
  perfect progressive
• has been curing
  perfect progressive

Past

• cured
  simple
• had cured
  perfect
• was curing
  progressive
• were curing
  progressive
• had been curing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cure
  simple
• will have cured
  perfect
• will be curing
  progressive
• will have been curing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of cure¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, Old French noun cure, from Latin cūra “care”; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of curé²

1645–55; < French, Old French; modeled on Medieval Latin cūrātus parish priest; see curate

Explanation

A cure is a treatment that ends an illness or makes you feel better. There is no cure for the common cold, or for a broken heart. Waaaaa. Many researchers focus on finding cures for diseases like cancer and diabetes — while it is possible to recover from incurable illnesses, it's not possible to cure them. You could also say, "This Florida winter is going to cure me of missing Minnesota!" When someone cures meat or fish, they smoke or salt it to preserve it. The Latin root is curare, "take care of."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cure curé cures curés cured curing

A new study suggests that doctors could improve cure rates by changing therapies before a tumor has a chance to recover.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026

"We will continue that until we find a cure for Parkinson's, because people don't realise it's more and more prevalent," she said.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

Because there is no cure for dementia or widely accessible treatment, the guidelines emphasised that prevention remains the most effective strategy to reduce the number oc cases.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

While there are ways to manage the condition, there isn’t currently a cure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

He would figure out how to cure her later.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

He went to bid the curé farewell instead, and sought and received his blessing.

From The Cloister and the Hearth A Tale of the Middle Ages by Reade, Charles

When my lord did this, and so fell into the trap he had laid for holy Church, the good curé whispered to Gerard, "Cretensis incidit in Cretensem!" which I take to mean, "Diamond cut diamond."

From The Cloister and the Hearth A Tale of the Middle Ages by Reade, Charles

"Gramercy for thy rede, curé," cried the great man, reproachfully.

From The Cloister and the Hearth A Tale of the Middle Ages by Reade, Charles

The curé did not keep them waiting long, though it seemed an age.

From The Cloister and the Hearth A Tale of the Middle Ages by Reade, Charles

The curé speedily closed out the light with a wooden shutter.

From The Cloister and the Hearth A Tale of the Middle Ages by Reade, Charles

FDA approved anti amyloid therapies now target disease biology in early Alzheimer's, though they are not cures and do not restore lost memory or cognitive function.

From Science Daily ● May 27, 2026

You know what, show me it cures cancer before I say yes to it.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026

It will give us a comprehensive picture of the nation’s overall health, enabling us to better invest our healthcare dollars to target the cures and interventions most needed.

From MarketWatch ● May 4, 2026

A doctor has been struck off after running an unregistered clinic and charging cancer patients £15,000 for bogus "cures" with garlic oil and vitamin C.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026

“That’s it! Maybe no one here knows what an alchemist is! Find out who it is who cures the people’s illnesses!”

From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

In the case of the French curés, the crucial story was that of Christ’s life and death as told by the Catholic Church.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

The sick man pushed one of his hands against the curés coif, shoving him back and cried, turning abruptly to the other side, 'Let me die in peace.'

From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 3 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Lectures by Ingersoll, Robert Green

The ghelungs are the ordinary priests, and may be compared in rank and functions to the French country curés.

From Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian Sea, the Crimea, the Caucasus, &c. by Hell, Xavier Hommaire de

All the deans, curés, clerks, beadles and the rest, both superior and inferior, who feed us with their trash.

From The Legend of the Glorious Adventures of Tyl Ulenspiegel in the land of Flanders and elsewhere by Coster, Charles de

Talking of curés, I may mention that one came from a distance of several miles to pay his respects to us, and offer welcome to France.

From Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 437 Volume 17, New Series, May 15, 1852 by Chambers, William

As a Kryptonian, her hangovers are instantly cured by a yellow sun.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

You order mazanilla, maybe some cured beef, and you listen.

From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026

Susanna ultimately is freed, not because she’s cured of the alienation she has always felt but because of an accepted marriage proposal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

It cannot be cured, but treatment can help manage it.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

I had hoped to be able to tell her I’d been cured so I wouldn’t have to go into the details, but I still haven’t seen the therapist.

From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass

In 2023, she became a patron of Brain Tumour Research - a charity dedicated to curing the disease.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

The foundation recommended ballot curing programs that speed up the process by utilizing a secure text platform when double checking whether a ballot is legitimate when a voter’s signature doesn’t match state records.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

Her parents both work in the medical field, which helps her keep perspective: “I’m not performing brain surgery or curing cancer,” she says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

But instead of ending capital punishment in the United States, the Furman decision set off a scramble in which states reenacted their death penalty laws in the hope of curing the problem Justice Douglas identified.

From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2026

“He feels bad that his brother Warren wasn’t present when the fairies were curing everybody.”

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

Related Words

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