therapy

noun

ther·​a·​py ˈther-ə-pē 

plural therapies

1

: therapeutic medical treatment of impairment, injury, disease, or disorder

The number of new patients treated for end-stage renal disease … with dialysis or renal transplantation has continued to rise exponentially with an 8.4% annualized growth rate reaching more than 160,000 patients undergoing therapy in the United States in 1989.

—Friedrich K. Port

see also art therapy, chelation therapy, chemotherapy, gene therapy, hormone therapy, music therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, shock therapy, speech therapy

2

: psychotherapy

Furthermore, the psychotherapist knows that all actions in therapy are messages that need be decoded and understood regardless of the 'language' the patient uses.

—Bruno Bettelheim and Alvin A. Rosenfeld

Synonyms

• antidote
• remedy
• solution
• therapeutic

Examples of therapy in a Sentence

He is undergoing cancer therapy.

talking over my problem with you has been good therapy

Recent Examples on the Web

Plague can be deadly but is curable with antibiotic therapy if it's diagnosed and treated early. —Sonam Sheth gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025

Additionally, a therapy dog named Justice was brought into the school on Tuesday to provide comfort to the students during this time of grieving, according to NBC affiliate KPRC. —David Chiu, People.com, 11 July 2025

And that means fewer new therapies for the next generation of patients. —Sally C. Pipes, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 July 2025

Commercial therapy chatbots performed even worse than the base AI models in many categories. —ArsTechnica, 11 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin therapia, from Greek therapeia, from therapeuein

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing therapy

• androgen deprivation therapy
• art therapy
• aversion therapy
• behavioral therapy
• behavior therapy
• chelation therapy
• cognitive behavioral therapy
• cognitive behavior therapy
• cognitive therapy
• combination therapy
• conversion therapy
• couples therapy
• craniosacral therapy
• electroconvulsive therapy
• electroshock therapy
• estrogen replacement therapy
• gene therapy
• group therapy
• hormone replacement therapy
• hormone therapy
• light therapy
• massage therapy
• music therapy
• occupational therapy
• physical therapy
• play therapy
• polarity therapy
• primal scream therapy
• radiation therapy
• radium therapy
• reparative therapy
• replacement therapy
• self-therapy
• shock therapy
• speech therapy
• talk therapy
• X-ray therapy

Rhymes for therapy

• brachytherapy
• chemotherapy
• cryotherapy
• hydrotherapy
• hypnotherapy
• monotherapy
• phototherapy
• psychotherapy
• sclerotherapy
• immunotherapy
• pharmacotherapy
• physiotherapy

Kids Definition

therapy

noun

ther·​a·​py ˈther-ə-pē 

plural therapies

: treatment of an abnormal state of the mind or body

Medical Definition

therapy

noun

ther·​a·​py ˈther-ə-pē 

plural therapies

: therapeutic treatment: as

a

: remedial treatment of mental or bodily disorder

b

: an agency (as treatment) designed or serving to bring about rehabilitation or social adjustment see occupational therapy, recreational therapy