curator

noun

cu·​ra·​tor ˈkyu̇r-ˌā-tər How to pronounce curator (audio)
ˈkyər-;
kyu̇-ˈrā-;
ˈkyu̇r-ə-,
ˈkyər- How to pronounce curator (audio)
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 adjective
curatorship
ˈkyu̇r-ˌā-tər-ˌship How to pronounce curator (audio)
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 And on Sunday, Daltrey is wrapping up his 24-year stint as the curator of the Teenage Cancer Trust with a blowout concert featuring Pete Townshend, Eddie Vedder, Robert Plant, Paul Weller, and Kelly Jones of the Stereophonics. Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2024 Dalila Scruggs has joined the Smithsonian American Art Museum as the museum’s first curator of African American art. Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024 Autoportrait of Paolo Roversi, 2020 Rather than take a linear approach, curator Sylvie Lécailler said she was guided by the light in Roversi’s work. Tina Isaac-Goizé, Vogue, 14 Mar. 2024 The British Museum recovered hundreds of engraved gems and other items of jewelry that museum officials say a former curator stole. Nina Siegal, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 Film critic Namrata Joshi serves as market curator. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024 Yet women and people of color were pivotal to the complex movement, as curator María Elena Ortiz, an expert in the art of Latin America, the Caribbean and United States, shows. James Russell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Mar. 2024 The Manhattan district attorney’s office in 2022 accused rock auctioneer Edward Kosinski, rare-book dealer Glenn Horowitz and former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi of acquiring pages of the Eagles’ manuscripts after they were stolen in the 1970s. Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024 Federica Gigante, an expert in Islamic art and scientific instruments at the University of Cambridge in the U.K., saw a picture of the artifact on the website of the museum in Verona, and asked the curators at the Fondazione Museo Miniscalchi-Erizzo about it. Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'curator.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of curator was in 1660

Dictionary Entries Near curator

Cite this Entry

“Curator.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/curator. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

curator

noun
cu·​ra·​tor ˈkyu̇(ə)r-ˌāt-ər How to pronounce curator (audio) kyu̇-ˈrāt- How to pronounce curator (audio)
ˈkyu̇r-ət-
: a person in charge of a museum or zoo
curatorship noun

Legal Definition

curator

noun
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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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