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• curry
  curry

  noun

  a pungent dish of vegetables, onions, meat or fish, etc., flavored with various spices or curry powder, and often eaten with rice.
• Curry
  Curry

  noun

  John (Anthony), 1949–94, British figure skater.

curry

¹ American  

[kur-ee, kuhr-ee] / ˈkɜr i, ˈkʌr i /

Sometimes currie

noun

• curries
  plural

1. 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.

2. any dish flavored with curry powder or the like.

   a lamb curry.

3. curry powder.

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verb (used with object)

curried, currying

1. to cook or flavor (food) with curry powder or a similar combination of spices.

   to curry eggs.

idioms

1. give (someone) a bit of curry, to rebuke, discipline, or criticize; harass.

curry ² American  

[kur-ee, kuhr-ee] / ˈkɜr i, ˈkʌr i /

verb (used with object)

curried, currying

1. to rub and clean (a horse) with a currycomb.

2. to dress (tanned hides) by soaking, scraping, beating, coloring, etc.

3. to beat; thrash.

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idioms

1. curry favor, to seek to advance oneself through flattery or fawning.

   His fellow workers despised him for currying favor with the boss.

Curry ³ American  

[kur-ee, kuhr-ee] / ˈkɜr i, ˈkʌr i /

noun

1. John (Anthony), 1949–94, British figure skater.

2. John Steuart 1897–1946, U.S. painter.

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curry ¹ British  

/ ˈkʌrɪ /

noun

1. 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

2. curry seasoning or sauce

3. slang to assault (a person) verbally or physically

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verb

1. (tr) to prepare (food) with curry powder or sauce

curry ² British  

/ ˈkʌrɪ /

verb

1. to beat vigorously, as in order to clean

2. to dress and finish (leather) after it has been tanned to make it strong, flexible, and waterproof

3. to groom (a horse)

4. to ingratiate oneself, esp with superiors

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Curry ³ British  

/ ˈkʌrɪ /

noun

1. John ( Anthony ). 1949–94, British ice skater: won the figure-skating gold medal in the 1976 Olympic Games

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• curries
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of curry¹

First recorded in 1590–1600, from Tamil kaṟi “sauce, relish”

Origin of curry²

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

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Explanation

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

curry Curry curries curried currying

Sources told NBC News that Combs paid inmates to clean and cook special meals for him, including curry chicken, pizza and empanadas, and that the hip-hop and R&B music producer also receives Chinese-style massages.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

"She had everything she wanted. She even wanted curry and chips."

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

People in prison confess to crimes, regardless of innocence, for any manner of reasons: because they are coerced, because their memories are unclear, to curry favor, for attention.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

There’s a theory that Ballmer’s standing down to curry favor and earn back some of those picks—that’s what happened when Minnesota got dinged years ago—but that’s hardly guaranteed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

He tipped the bowl up and drank down the last of the curry at the bottom of it.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

If I’m in the mood for Indian, I’d probably go with Curry Kingdom on Santa Monica.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

Before Paul called the property home, stars including Robert Pattinson, Jim Parsons, Noah Wyle, Tim Curry, cinematographer Robert Richardson, and NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had all reportedly lived at the estate.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

Andy Curry, the ICO's head of criminal investigations, told the BBC he believed the calls were coming from abroad.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Following his star turn at the World Cup, he has 20 million more Instagram followers than Steph Curry and five times as many as Tom Brady.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

When Apu became a restaurateur, he called his restaurant Curry in a Hurry. rhythm.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

A treat for anyone who loves a little wordplay: Can you think of an 11-letter phrase that describes some curries or romances?

From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026

Tomato already knows butter from ghee-rich curries, grilled cheese dipped in tomato soup and Marcella Hazan’s famously spare sauce.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026

Smoky, charcoal-grilled meats and fragrant wok-cooked tomato curries sizzling over an open flame.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

"You will see fast food, Indian breads and curries, desserts, and whatever else people have been sending," said Kaanita, a 21-year-old student.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

A tali was brought out piled with boiled ducks’ eggs, crisply fried pooris, dal, rice, curries, chapatis, mango chutney, and many kinds of sweets.

From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan

"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

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

“We can’t get Caribbean food this good where we live,” said Richard Harris, a regular seated before a tray of curried mutton.

From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2024

There was peacock pie, jellied eds, Devonshire cream, curried porpoise, iced fruit salad, and two thousand side dishes.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Rodriguez has sought to frame her interim government as more permissive of political dissent while currying favour with the US.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

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

And I’d say that currying the favor of 84% is still pretty darn good.

From Salon ● Mar. 27, 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

Sometimes, if the work horses were to be used that day, Jody found Billy Buck in the barn harnessing and currying.

From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck

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Related Words

• sauce
• seasoning

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