cure

verb

/kjʊə(r)/

/kjʊr/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they cure	/kjʊə(r)/ /kjʊr/
he / she / it cures	/kjʊəz/ /kjʊrz/
past simple cured	/kjʊəd/ /kjʊrd/
past participle cured	/kjʊəd/ /kjʊrd/
-ing form curing	/ˈkjʊərɪŋ/ /ˈkjʊrɪŋ/

Idioms

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to make a person or an animal healthy again after an illness
- cure somebody Will you be able to cure him, Doctor?
- cure somebody of something The doctor managed to cure her of her illness.
Wordfinder
- cure
- doctor
- examine
- medicine
- patient
- practice
- prescribe
- receptionist
- specialist
- surgeon
Collocations Illnesses
IllnessesBecoming ill
- catch a cold/an infectious disease/the flu/(British English) flu/pneumonia/a virus/(informal) a bug
- get (British English) ill/(North American English) sick/a disease/AIDS/breast cancer/a cold/the flu/(British English) flu/a migraine
- come down with a cold/the flu/(British English) flu
- contract a deadly disease/a serious illness/HIV/AIDS
- be infected with a virus/a parasite/HIV
- develop cancer/diabetes/a rash/an ulcer/symptoms of hepatitis
- have a heart attack/a stroke
- provoke/trigger/produce an allergic reaction
- block/burst/rupture a blood vessel
- damage/sever a nerve/an artery/a tendon
Being ill
- feel (British English) ill/nauseous/queasy
- be running (British English) a temperature/(North American English) a fever
- have a head cold/diabetes/heart disease/lung cancer/a headache/(British English) a high temperature/(North American English) a fever
- suffer from asthma/malnutrition/frequent headaches/bouts of depression/a mental disorder
- be laid up with/ (British English) be in bed with a cold/the flu/(British English) flu/a migraine
- nurse a cold/a headache/a hangover
- battle/fight cancer/depression/addiction/alcoholism
Treatments
- examine a patient
- diagnose a condition/disease/disorder
- be diagnosed with cancer/diabetes/schizophrenia
- prescribe/be given/be on/take drugs/medicine/medication/pills/painkillers/antibiotics
- treat somebody for cancer/depression/shock
- have/undergo an examination/an operation/surgery/a kidney transplant/therapy/chemotherapy/treatment for cancer
- have/be given an injection/(British English) a flu jab/(North American English) a flu shot/a blood transfusion/a scan/an X-ray
- cure a disease/an ailment/cancer/a headache/a patient
- prevent the spread of disease/further outbreaks/damage to the lungs
- be vaccinated against the flu/(British English) flu/the measles/(British English) measles/polio/smallpox
- enhance/boost/confer/build immunity to a disease
Wordfinder
- chemotherapy
- cure
- disease
- drug
- injection
- medication
- osteopathy
- palliative
- physiotherapy
- radiotherapy
Extra Examples
- He was now completely cured of his illness.
- She still believed that somehow she could be miraculously cured.
- She was miraculously cured.
- They will try to cure her of her alcoholism.
Topics Illnessb2, Medicineb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- completely
- miraculously
preposition
- of
See full entry
to make an illness go away
- cure something It is better to prevent rather than cure diseases.
- Finding it early is the key to curing most cancers.
- TB is a serious illness, but it can be cured.
- cure something with something The disease can be cured with antibiotics.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- completely
- miraculously
preposition
- of
See full entry
to deal with a problem successfully
- cure something I finally managed to cure the rattling noise in my car.
- Charities alone can't cure basic social injustices.
- He bought some special software that was supposed to cure hard disk problems.
- cure something with something Most of the team's faults could be cured with good coaching.
Topics Successb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- completely
- miraculously
preposition
- of
See full entry
cure somebody of something to stop somebody from behaving in a particular way, especially a way that is bad or annoying
- I thought I had finally cured him of this annoying habit.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- completely
- miraculously
preposition
- of
See full entry
cure something to treat food or tobacco with smoke, salt or heat, etc. in order to preserve it
- cured ham/bacon
see also dry-cure

Word OriginMiddle English (as a noun): from Old French curer (verb), cure (noun), both from Latin curare ‘take care of’, from cura ‘care’. The original noun senses were ‘care, concern, responsibility’, in particular spiritual care. In late Middle English the senses ‘medical care’ and ‘successful medical treatment’ arose, and hence ‘remedy’.

Idioms

kill or cure

(British English) used to say that what you are going to do will either be very successful or fail completelyTopics Successc2, Difficulty and failurec2

cure

noun

/kjʊə(r)/

/kjʊr/

Idioms

jump to other results

a medicine or medical treatment that cures an illness
- cure for something the search for a cure for cancer
- Researchers are working to find a cure for the disease.
- There is no miracle cure for this condition.
- There is no known cure but the illness can be treated.
- The only real cure is rest.
Extra Examples
- If the disease is detected early, it has a cure.
- The cure works by boosting the body's immune system.
- There is no instant cure for this condition.
- There is no known cure for the disease.
- scientists seeking a cure for AIDS
- the search for a cure for the common cold
- Although there is no cure for this illness, it can be treated to reduce the pain.
Topics Illnessb2, Medicineb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- effective
- instant
- miracle
- …
verb + cure
- have
- look for
- seek
- …
cure + verb
- work
preposition
- cure for
- cure from
phrases
- prevention is better than cure
- the search for a cure
- there is a cure (for something)
- …
See full entry
the act of curing somebody of an illness or the process of being cured
- Doctors cannot effect a cure if the disease has spread too far.
- The cure took six weeks.
- These drugs can sometimes effect miraculous cures.
see also rest cureTopics Illnessb2, Medicineb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- miraculous
- complete
- permanent
- …
verb + cure
- bring about
- effect
- provide
- …
See full entry
cure (for something) something that will solve a problem, improve a bad situation, etc.
- a cure for poverty
- Science cannot provide a cure for all the world's problems.

Idioms

prevention is better than cure (British English)

(US English an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure)

(saying) it is better to stop something bad from happening rather than try to deal with the problems after it has happened
- Prevention is better than cure, so start looking after your heart now.
- Prevention is better than cure, so start taking care of yourself.