a means of healing or restoring to health; remedy.
a method or course of remedial treatment, as for disease.
successful remedial treatment; restoration to health.
a means of correcting or relieving anything that is troublesome or detrimental.
The administration is seeking a cure for inflation.
the act or a method of preserving meat, fish, etc., by smoking, salting, or the like.
spiritual or religious charge of the people in a certain district.
the office or district of a curate or parish priest.
to restore to health.
to relieve or rid of something detrimental, such as an illness or a bad habit.
to correct (a document, especially a mail-in ballot) in order to make it valid.
If the voter’s signature is missing, the county board sends them a certification form allowing the voter to cure the ballot so it can be counted.
to prepare (meat, fish, etc.) for preservation by salting, drying, etc.
to promote hardening of (fresh concrete or mortar), as by keeping it damp.
to process (rubber, tobacco, etc.) as by fermentation or aging.
to effect a cure.
to become cured.
(tr) to get rid of (an ailment, fault, or problem); heal
(tr) to restore to health or good condition
(intr) to bring about a cure
(tr) to preserve (meat, fish, etc) by salting, smoking, etc
(tr)
to treat or finish (a substance) by chemical or physical means
to vulcanize (rubber)
to allow (a polymer) to set often using heat or pressure
(tr) to assist the hardening of (concrete, mortar, etc) by keeping it moist
a return to health, esp after specific treatment
any course of medical therapy, esp one proved effective in combating a disease
a means of restoring health or improving a condition, situation, etc
the spiritual and pastoral charge of a parish
the cure of souls
a process or method of preserving meat, fish, etc, by salting, pickling, or smoking
Cure, heal, remedy imply making well, whole, or right. Cure is applied to the eradication of disease or sickness: to cure a headache. Heal suggests the making whole of wounds, sores, etc.: to heal a burn. Remedy applies especially to making wrongs right: to remedy a mistake.
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, Old French noun cure, from Latin cūra “care”; verb derivative of the noun
1645–55; < French, Old French; modeled on Medieval Latin cūrātus parish priest; see curate
A cure is a treatment that ends an illness or makes you feel better. There is no cure for the common cold, or for a broken heart. Waaaaa. Many researchers focus on finding cures for diseases like cancer and diabetes — while it is possible to recover from incurable illnesses, it's not possible to cure them. You could also say, "This Florida winter is going to cure me of missing Minnesota!" When someone cures meat or fish, they smoke or salt it to preserve it. The Latin root is curare, "take care of."
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The idea is that prevention is better than a cure when it comes to instilling financial responsibility in young people.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 16, 2026
The condition is progressive, and there is no cure.
From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026
But a slate of research teams around the world are on an ambitious quest to cure arthritis, developing therapies that regrow cartilage and rebuild underlying bone to heal damaged joints.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026
Ultimately, a ballot initiative won’t cure the ills that plague healthcare in the United States, said the Lown Institute’s Saini.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
So likewise those living creatures that are enemies to poisonous things, and swallow them up without danger, may shew us that such poisons will cure the bitings and blows of those creatures.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
