therapy

American  

[ther-uh-pee] / ˈθɛr ə pi /

noun

therapies plural

1. the treatment of disease or disorders, as by some remedial, rehabilitating, or curative process.

   speech therapy.

2. a curative power or quality.

3. psychotherapy.

4. any act, hobby, task, program, etc., that relieves tension.

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therapy British  

/ ˈθɛrəpɪ /

noun

1. 1. the treatment of physical, mental, or social disorders or disease

   2. ( in combination )

      physiotherapy

      electrotherapy

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therapy Cultural  

1. Treatment intended to cure or alleviate an illness or injury, whether physical or mental.

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Other Word Forms

• self-therapy
  noun

Etymology

Origin of therapy

1840–50; < New Latin therapīa < Greek therapeía healing (akin to therápōn attendant)

Explanation

Therapy is the act of caring for someone, or the method of caring. If you have a rare disease, your doctor's therapy will hopefully cure you. Therapy comes from the Greek θεραπεία, for "healing." If someone tells you she's "in therapy," she's probably talking about a psychological kind of healing. But if she's getting physical therapy, then she's getting help with a bone or muscle problem. If someone suggests an experimental therapy, that's a mode of treatment that's new. Sometimes if something non-medical makes you feel better, we call it a kind of therapy. You might like chocolate therapy, for example.

Example Sentences

However, no approved therapy has been shown to slow or stop the underlying progression of Parkinson's disease itself.

From Science Daily • May 28, 2026

Carvykti is now the bestselling CAR-T therapy in the world, with nearly $2 billion in 2025 sales, roughly double what the drug made the prior year.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

Using a technique called CAR-T therapy, researchers extract a patient’s immune cells, re-engineer them to hunt cancer, and infuse them back.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

She started her own physical therapy practice that spring, naming it Hive Therapy in honor of Bee.

From Salon • May 27, 2026

“Junie, I want you and your parents to know that anything you tell me in therapy is confidential,” Rachel says.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

Related Words

• analysis
• cure
• healing
• medicine
• remedy