cure-all

/ˈkjʊəɹɔːl/

//ˈkjʊəɹɔːl// noun

"cure-all" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cure-all” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Synonym of panacea: a medicine or practice that cures all human ailments.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cure-all · cure-all · English

cure-all · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for cure-all
PropertyValue
Headwordcure-all
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkjʊəɹɔːl/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cure-all” in English

cure-allranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cure-all is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkjʊəɹɔːl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Synonym of panacea: a medicine or practice that cures all human ailments.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for cure-all, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cure + -all. The correct English form is cure-all, spelled C-U-R-E---A-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Synonym of panacea: a medicine or practice that cures all human ailments.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how cure-all appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Step right up! Step right up! Our panacean patent medicine miracle cure-all will cure what ails ya! Cash only! No refunds.

Etymology

From cure + -all.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cure-all"?
"cure-all" is spelled C-U-R-E---A-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkjʊəɹɔːl/.
What does "cure-all" mean?
As a noun, "cure-all" means: Synonym of panacea: a medicine or practice that cures all human ailments.
How do you pronounce "cure-all"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cure-all" is /ˈkjʊəɹɔːl/. 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-all"?
From cure + -all. 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list