curate

IPA/ˈkjʊərət/

KK[kjˈʊrət]IPA/ˈkjʊrət/

curatesingular
curatesplural

1.nounC1

Definition

a junior priest who helps the vicar or rector run a church and serve the local community, especially within the Anglican Church

Example

The new curate at St. Mary's visited every house on the street.

curate + at [church name]

Felix trained as a curate for two years before becoming a vicar.

trained as a curate

Common collocations

assistant curate
parish curate
curate-in-charge
young curate

Synonyms

vicar
the senior priest in charge of a parish; not a synonym for an assistant
rector
a senior priest, similar to vicar but with different historical legal status
minister
a general term for a Protestant clergyperson, not specific to Anglicanism
chaplain
a priest attached to a hospital, school, or military unit rather than a parish

Antonyms

vicar
the senior priest whom the curate assists

Grammar Patterns

curate + of + church/parish

Usage Note

This title is most often found in Anglican and Episcopal churches. In some denominations the term 'assistant priest' or 'associate pastor' is used instead.

Common Mistakes

The curate is the head of the parish.

The vicar is the head of the parish; the curate is the assistant.

A curate is a junior assistant, not the person in charge.

Idioms

the/a curate’s egg

idiom

Something that is partly good and partly bad.

The movie was a curate's egg, with great acting but a weak plot.

Did you find the exhibition a curate's egg or consistently excellent?

IPA/kjʊəˈreɪt/

KK[kjˈʊrət]IPA/kjʊˈreɪt/

curatepresent simple I / you / we / they
curateshe / she / it
curatedpast simple
curating-ing form

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2

Definition

to choose, arrange, and take care of artworks or historical objects so that they can be displayed in a museum, gallery, or exhibition

Example

Lisa curated the museum's new exhibition of twentieth‑century paintings.

curate + exhibition of [theme]

The photography show was curated by a team of art historians from Paris.

passive: be curated by + person/team

Common collocations

curate an exhibition
curate a collection
curate a show
carefully curated
expertly curated

Synonyms

organize
more general; does not imply expert knowledge of art or historical objects
manage
focuses on running the collection rather than selecting new pieces
oversee
emphasises supervisory responsibility rather than hands-on selection

Antonyms

neglect
to fail to care for the objects in a collection

Grammar Patterns

curate + exhibition / collection / show

be curated by + person / team

Usage Note

Frequently used in the passive voice (e.g. 'The exhibition was curated by...'). This sense always involves physical objects or artworks — not people, performances, or digital content.

Common Mistakes

She curated a new song for her playlist.' (when she chose a song for a theme-based playlist)

She added a new song to her playlist.

This sense of curate is about museums and galleries, not digital music collections.

2.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2

Definition

to decide which films, musicians, performances, or other acts will form part of a festival, film series, or cultural programme

Example

Zayd curated the film programme for the city's summer arts festival.

curate + [type of] programme for [event]

Nellie curated a series of jazz performances at the annual music event.

Common collocations

curate a festival
curate a programme
curate a season
curate a series
curate a competition

Synonyms

select
simpler; does not suggest overall artistic control of an event
programme
UK English; 'he programmed the film festival' is an alternative British usage

Grammar Patterns

curate + festival / programme / season

curate + [art form] + for + [event]

Usage Note

The object is typically an event or programme, not individual artworks. Distinguish from sense 1 (museum) where the focus is physical objects, and from sense 3 (digital) where the content is online material.

Common Mistakes

She curated the museum's ceramic collection.' (if she works at a festival)

She curated the music programme at the summer festival.

The object must be an event or programme, not a physical collection.

3.verbtransitiveB2

Definition

to pick and organise digital material — such as articles, songs, products, or posts — and present it in a list, feed, playlist, or collection for an audience to browse or enjoy

Example

Heloísa curated a weekly newsletter of design articles for architects in São Paulo.

curate + newsletter of [topic] for [audience]

The music blog curated playlists of new indie bands for its readers every month.

Common collocations

curate content
curated playlist
curated feed
curated collection
curated list
curated newsletter

Synonyms

select
simpler and less specialised; 'pick' rather than 'thoughtfully choose and arrange'
compile
focuses on gathering items together without the same connotation of expert judgement
assemble
suggests putting pieces together; less about taste or thematic consistency

Grammar Patterns

curate + content / playlist / newsletter / collection

curate + [material] + for + [audience/platform]

Usage Note

This is the most recently developed sense and is very common in technology and media contexts. The object is always intangible: content, information, or media — never physical objects or live events.

Common Mistakes

I curated a shelf of books at the library.' (for arranging physical books)

I curated a reading list of novels for the book club website.

Use this sense for digital or list-based collections, not for physically arranging objects.

Word family

curator
nounB2
curation
nounB2
curatorial
adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

These words all involve putting things in order, but 'curate' carries the strongest sense of expert judgement and taste. 'Organize' is the broadest term — you can organize a desk, an event, or a filing system without specialised knowledge. 'Manage' implies ongoing responsibility (staff, budgets, operations) beyond the initial selection; a museum manager may never choose a single artwork. 'Arrange' focuses on the physical layout or sequence (e.g., arranging items in a display case) rather than the intellectual selection of which pieces belong. When a museum director 'curates' an exhibition, they apply deep knowledge of the subject to decide which objects tell the best story. For example: 'Anna curated the gallery's modern art wing, while her assistant arranged the paintings on the walls and another colleague managed the daily opening hours.'

curateorganizemanagearrange

Common collocations

Nouns

exhibition
collection
show
display
programme
festival
playlist
newsletter
content
gallery

Adverbs

carefully
expertly
professionally
beautifully
thoughtfully

Phrases

well curated
specially curated
curated by an expert

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinMedieval LatinAnglo-FrenchEnglish

The word 'curate' comes from the Latin 'cura' meaning 'care'. In medieval Latin, a 'curatus' was a priest who had the 'cura animarum' (care of souls) in a parish. The noun entered English in the 1300s. The verb did not appear until the mid-1900s, first used in museum contexts — a curator 'takes care of' a collection. By the 2000s, the verb spread to festivals, digital content, and product recommendations, keeping the core idea of thoughtful selection and care.

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curate

curate — noun

1. a junior priest who helps the vicar or rector run a church and serve the local c

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

the/a curate’s egg

curate — verb

1. to choose, arrange, and take care of artworks or historical objects so that they

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

2. to decide which films, musicians, performances, or other acts will form part of

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

3. to pick and organise digital material — such as articles, songs, products, or po

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

Word family

Synonym discussion

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

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