East Indian Cooking. a pungent dish of vegetables, onions, meat or fish, etc., flavored with various spices or curry powder, and often eaten with rice.
any dish flavored with curry powder or the like.
a lamb curry.
John (Anthony), 1949–94, British figure skater.
John Steuart 1897–1946, U.S. painter.
a spicy dish of oriental, esp Indian, origin that is made in many ways but usually consists of meat or fish prepared in a hot piquant sauce
curry seasoning or sauce
slang to assault (a person) verbally or physically
to beat vigorously, as in order to clean
to dress and finish (leather) after it has been tanned to make it strong, flexible, and waterproof
to groom (a horse)
to ingratiate oneself, esp with superiors
First recorded in 1590–1600, from Tamil kaṟi “sauce, relish”
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English curreien, curraien, curry, from Anglo-French curreier, Old French corroier, earlier conreer “to make ready,” from Vulgar Latin conrēdāre (unrecorded); see origin at corody
Curry is a South Asian-style dish of vegetables or meat in a very flavorful, spicy sauce. You can try many types of curry in an Indian restaurant. There are different curries from different parts of Asia — a Thai curry, for example, might consist of shrimp and vegetables in a rich yellow sauce. When curry is a verb, it can mean "make curry," but it's more commonly "groom a horse." A curry comb, in fact, is specially made for this purpose. This curry comes from the Anglo-French curreier, "to comb a horse," while the dish has a Tamil root, kari, "sauce."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The crab curry is so delicious and they do these street food sausages that we crave.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
Among the mains, the pan-seared half chicken with smoked red curry and purple sticky rice was the standout.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
Take a stroll along the high street in Broughty Ferry and you are spoiled for choice when it comes to cafes, clothes shops and curry houses.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
They may even want to emulate the boss to curry favor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
The eggplant curry and lentils were tasty, but Naima couldn’t eat.
From "Rickshaw Girl" by Mitali Perkins
After their most recent meeting – a 27-23 win for England at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium – Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi was involved in a confrontation with England flanker Tom Curry in the tunnel.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
The frenzy traces back to the enduring global box-office runs of two low-budget horror films, Curry Barker’s “Obsession” and Kane Parsons’ “Backrooms,” which have earned $403 million and $349 million, respectively.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
If he joins the Warriors, he would be teaming up with Stephen Curry, the NBA’s third-highest earner in history, at $470 million.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker, the $750,000 production has grossed over $220 million in the U.S. since opening, from an audience that is mostly between ages 18 and 35.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
We lived in a little Conch house on Curry Lane.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
For the first time, the targets also included 24 out-of-home food categories such as burgers, curries, and pizza.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 31, 2026
Levy UK says it aims to use the whole animal, turning lesser cuts into burgers, curries and pies.
From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025
Pastas, curries, stews, really indulgent bowls of oatmeal; many with their requisite pops of green.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025
Festive meals often include rich curries, savoury snacks, and special breads.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2025
Rice, lots of different curries, dal, kebab, poori, paratha, samosa, mango pickle, gulab jamun, and rasmalai.
From "The Night Diary" by Veera Hiranandani
"For the next week we just had tuna every day, it was a bit like Forrest Gump and the shrimp, we had curried tuna, fried tuna, battered tuna, beer-battered tuna, raw tuna."
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
But after indulging in a few spoonfuls, my palate begged to differ, craving more in between bites of curried rice and meat.
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2026
He curried favor in Abu Dhabi by backing a local tech incubator and building personal ties to the royals via a circle of well-connected friends on the city’s luxurious Saadiyat island.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
There are also the moderation bots, which, as I’ve reported, have curried some backlash for allegedly overaggressive policing of comments about controversial celebrities like Elon Musk and Luigi Mangione.
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2025
Jody curried and brushed until a pile of dead hair lay in the stall and until the pony’s coat had taken on a deep red shine.
From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck
Gianni Infantino has spent years currying favor with President Trump to ensure the smooth running of the tournament.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
He added, “How can it not be equated with currying favor or an outright bribe? How can that not be the case?”
From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2026
He first fought with the invading Japanese to oust Britain, before swapping sides as the tide of war changed and currying favour with London for the cause of independence.
From Barron's ● Dec. 23, 2025
So hacking companies prioritize currying favor over delivering excellence.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
Under the constant currying and brushing his coat lay as smooth and gleaming as orange-red lacquer.
From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck
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.
