curator

noun

cu·​ra·​tor ˈkyu̇r-ˌā-tər 

ˈkyər-;

kyu̇-ˈrā-;

ˈkyu̇r-ə-,

ˈkyər- 

plural curators

: a person who oversees or manages a place (such as a museum or zoo) that offers exhibits

"My passion for animal care and collection management really drove me to become a curator."

—Scott Newland

also : a person at a museum, zoo, etc. who is in charge of a specific collection or subject area

the curator of manuscripts

curatorial

ˌkyu̇r-ə-ˈtȯr-ē-əl 

ˌkyər-

adjective

curatorship

ˈkyu̇r-ˌā-tər-ˌship 

ˈkyər-;

kyu̇-ˈrā-;

ˈkyu̇r-ə-

ˈkyər-

noun

Did you know?

In a good-sized art museum, each curator is generally responsible for a single department or collection: European painting, Asian sculpture, Native American art, and so on. Curatorial duties include acquiring new artworks, caring for and repairing objects already owned, discovering frauds and counterfeits, lending artworks to other museums, and mounting exhibitions of everything from Greek sculpture to 20th-century clothing.

Examples of curator in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When putting together the exhibition, curator Sol Jung wanted to emphasize the cross-cultural nature of the objects. —Nathan Pugh, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Apr. 2025

Photo: Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Images Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and former museum curator and director Thomas Hoving, 1976. —Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 28 Apr. 2025

Goreski looked back on the swirl while standing at the podium Thursday night accepting a style curator of the year award during the Daily Front Row’s Fashion Los Angeles awards ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel. —Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 25 Apr. 2025

Representing artists pushing the boundaries of innovative technology for the past three years, Heft was founded by artist and curator Adam Heft Berninger. —Yana Sosnovskaya, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin cūrātor "one who looks after, superintendent, guardian," from cūrāre "to watch over, attend" + -tor, agent suffix — more at cure entry 2

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing curator

• co-curator

Rhymes for curator

• coater
• creator
• debater
• deflator
• dictator
• dilator
• equator
• locator
• mutator
• piscator
• pronator
• relator

Kids Definition

curator

noun

cu·​ra·​tor ˈkyu̇(ə)r-ˌāt-ər  kyu̇-ˈrāt- 

ˈkyu̇r-ət-

: a person in charge of a museum or zoo

curatorship

-ˌship 

noun

Legal Definition

curator

noun

cu·​ra·​tor ˈkyu̇r-ˌā-tər, kyu̇-ˈrā-tər 

in the civil law of Louisiana : a person appointed by a court to care for the property of an absent person or to care for the person or property of someone mentally incapable of doing so compare committee, conservator, guardian, interdict, tutor

curatorship noun

Etymology

Latin, guardian, from curare to take care of