therapy

American  

[ther-uh-pee] / ˈθɛr ə pi /

noun

plural

therapies

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

Ideaya and Servier have agreed to share the costs to develop the therapy, with Ideaya retaining the regulatory and commercial rights for darovasertib in the U.S. and Servier receiving the same for all other territories.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

While the drug showed efficacy for ovarian and endometrial cancers with no major safety red flags in early-stage studies, there are caveats about small sample sizes and slightly different prior lines of therapy, Jefferies says.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

Researchers found that patients who received the injection alongside standard therapy experienced greater reductions in blood pressure compared to those who stayed on standard treatment alone.

From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026

But why go to therapy when there are Black barbershops ready to give them a fresh start as an alternative to mental health help.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

The best part was that my cousin, Curtis, gave me another iTunes gift card that I want to use to listen to the music we listen to in therapy.

From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon

Related Words

• analysis
• cure
• healing
• medicine
• remedy