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cure

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

4 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

Wiktionary

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "cure", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "cure" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "cure" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

cure is aEnglishnoun. It means: A method, device or medication that restores good health. Pronounced /kjɔː(r)/. It ranks #4,149 in English word frequency. Often confused with cut and cuz.

Key facts for cure
PropertyValue
Headwordcure
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kjɔː(r)/
Letters4
Frequency rank#4,149
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of cure in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for cure is 4 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kjɔː(r)/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,149 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 5 documented wrong-spelling variants for cure, with forms such as "ccure", "crue", and "cuer". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cut", "cuz", "cute", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cure, borrowed from Old French cure (“care, cure, healing, cure of souls”), from Latin cura (“care, medical attendance, cure”). Displaced native Old English hǣlu, but survived as heal. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is cure, spelled C-U-R-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A method, device or medication that restores good health.
  2. 2
    An act of healing or state of being healed; restoration to health after a disease, or to soundness after injury.
  3. 3
    A solution to a problem.
  4. 4
    A process of preservation, as by smoking.
  5. 5
    Cured fish.
  6. 6
    A process of solidification or gelling.
  7. 7
    A process whereby a material is caused to form permanent molecular linkages by exposure to chemicals, heat, pressure or weathering.
  8. 8
    Care, heed, or attention.
  9. 9
    Spiritual charge; care of soul; the office of a parish priest or of a curate.
  10. 10
    That which is committed to the charge of a parish priest or of a curate.

Etymology

From Middle English cure, borrowed from Old French cure (“care, cure, healing, cure of souls”), from Latin cura (“care, medical attendance, cure”). Displaced native Old English hǣlu, but survived as heal.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccure,crue,cuer,curre,ucre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for cure

Misspelling Variants of "cure"

ccure5crue4cuer4curre5ucre4
Misspelling Variants of "cure"

Frequency rank: #4,149 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cure"?
"cure" is spelled C-U-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kjɔː(r)/.
What does "cure" mean?
As a noun, "cure" means: A method, device or medication that restores good health.
What words are commonly confused with "cure"?
"cure" is commonly confused with "cut", "cuz", "cute". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cure"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cure" is /kjɔː(r)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cure"?
From Middle English cure, borrowed from Old French cure (“care, cure, healing, cure of souls”), from Latin cura (“care, medical attendance, cure”). Displaced native Old English hǣlu, but survived as heal. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter C in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.