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
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
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
The film curator responsible for the last program, Ehsan Khoshbakht, returns this year with Great Expectations.
—John Bleasdale, Variety, 10 Mar. 2025
According to Laura Kendall, curator of Asian Ethnology at AMNH, such handcrafted vessels have been used to ferment kimchi for thousands of years.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
Museum curators recently took a closer look at the box after hearing about another museum’s project focusing on an indigenous South American art technique known as Barniz de Pasto.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 7 Mar. 2025
The curator of a new exhibition at the former home of Princess Diana has some of the answers.
—Simon Perry, People.com, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for curator
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John Bleasdale, Variety, 10 Mar. 2025
According to Laura Kendall, curator of Asian Ethnology at AMNH, such handcrafted vessels have been used to ferment kimchi for thousands of years.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
Museum curators recently took a closer look at the box after hearing about another museum’s project focusing on an indigenous South American art technique known as Barniz de Pasto.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 7 Mar. 2025
The curator of a new exhibition at the former home of Princess Diana has some of the answers.
—Simon Perry, People.com, 6 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for curator
Cite this Entry
“Curator.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/curator. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
curator
noun
cu·ra·tor
ˈkyu̇(ə)r-ˌāt-ər
kyu̇-ˈrāt-
kyu̇-ˈrāt-
ˈkyu̇r-ət-
: a person in charge of a museum or zoo
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
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