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

Derived Forms

• self-therapy
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• therapies
  plural

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

See Examples For:

therapy therapies

“I thought it wasn’t permanent, that it was just fewer phone calls when I was in my therapy process,” she says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Research has linked synchronized movement with social bonding and increased pain thresholds, while studies of dance and movement therapy have found benefits for depression, anxiety and interpersonal functioning.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

Under the slogan "We are unbearable," it launched an advert showing fans from different teams sitting in a therapy circle complaining about Argentines' unbridled passion for football.

From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026

What they first cultivate with silly banter and lighthearted ad-libs eases into a more vulnerable, introspective atmosphere, comparable to a cathartic therapy session.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

Because I wouldn’t talk, he advised my parents to get me into therapy right away.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

The group combines bioinformatics with clinical research to create diagnostic tools and assess possible therapies.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026

Dorio said there are thousands of cancer mutations for which there are thousands of therapies, and in the modern world of medical advances and telehealth capability, no one is served by restricting access to care.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026

Mr. Sabet argues that this runs counter to the purpose of the law, which was to help patients with life-threatening diseases, and could result in negative consequences and stop people from using proven therapies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

The think tank proposes using £1bn of those savings to expand NHS talking therapies, treatment and employment support.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

And these technological therapies would have to be constructed, she said, so that they don’t invite their own side effects, like, say, overbuilding one neural network.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Related Words

• analysis
• cure
• healing
• medicine
• remedy