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

Former Detroit Historical Museum curator Joel Stone once referred to dueling monuments as genial ethnic jousting. —Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 15 Sep. 2024

During the first American spacewalks carried out during the Gemini program of the 1960s, crew members frequently experienced problems with their suits, according to Emily Margolis, a curator of contemporary spaceflight at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. —Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 10 Sep. 2024

Recently, Ryan Zeigler, NASA’s lunar-sample curator, gave a private tour of the collection to a visitor. —Matthew Hutson, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024

Photographed by Hunter Abrams Tonight in New York City, supermodel and singer-songwriter Karen Elson married art collector and curator Lee Foster at Electric Lady Studios, the music studio founded by Jimi Hendrix and where the groom is now a managing partner. —Alexandra MacOn, Vogue, 8 Sep. 2024

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

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