What does "curry" mean?
One of a family of dishes originating from Indian cuisine, flavored by a spiced sauce.
Curry
/ˈkʌ.ɹi/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One of a family of dishes originating from Indian cuisine, flavored by a spiced sauce.
- Grammar: curry is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: bake, barbecue, baste, beat.
- Useful contrasts: alienate, offend, plain dish.
- Usage evidence: The chief clerk is not a hardworking man, but gets ahead rapidly because he knows how to curry favor with his superiors.
How to use "curry"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "curry" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "curry" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "curry" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "curry" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "curry" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bake" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "curry", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 One of a family of dishes originating from Indian cuisine, flavored by a spiced sauce. countable, uncountable
- 2 Obsolete form of quarry. alt-of, obsolete
- 3 (East Indian cookery) a pungent dish of vegetables or meats flavored with curry powder and usually eaten with rice wordnet
- 4 A spiced sauce or relish, especially one flavored with curry powder. countable, uncountable
- 5 Curry powder. countable, uncountable
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A person of South Asian heritage. countable, derogatory, ethnic, slur, uncountable
"[…] while another tells us that white women “are also THE most racist group of foids. they would rather put a bullet through their brain than date a curry or sandcel.”"
Verb
- 1 To cook or season with curry powder. transitive
- 2 To groom (a horse); to dress or rub down a horse with a curry comb. transitive
"Your short horse is soon curried."
- 3 To perform currying upon. transitive
"The easiest way to curry parameters is to create a function that takes a parameter block and returns a function that will call the original function with the presupplied parameters as defaults […]."
- 4 To scurry; to ride or run hastily intransitive, obsolete
- 5 give a neat appearance to wordnet
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 To dress (leather) after it is tanned by beating, rubbing, scraping and colouring. transitive
- 7 To cover (a distance); (of a projectile) to traverse (its range). obsolete, transitive
"I am not hee that can ... by midnight leape my horse, curry seauen miles."
- 8 treat by incorporating fat wordnet
- 9 To beat, thrash; to drub. transitive
"I have seen him curry a fellow's carcase handsomely."
- 10 To hurry. obsolete, transitive
"A sermon is soon curryed over."
- 11 season with a mixture of spices; typical of Indian cooking wordnet
- 12 To try to win or gain (favour) by flattering. figuratively, transitive
"A middle-aged woman waves and calls to her, as if she, like the hungry reporters, were currying the girl's favor: Florence Aadland (Sarandon, in a wily, multilayered performance), Beverly's mother, wears an expression of maternal concern, though her self-serving motives become increasingly clear."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Irish, anglicized from Irish Ó Comhraidhe.
"Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry has accepted the role of assistant general manager for the basketball programs at alma mater Davidson College."
- 2 An Irish surname, a variant of Corr.
- 3 An Irish surname, a variant of Currie.
- 4 A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic, a variant of Currie.
- 5 A village and townland in County Sligo, Ireland.
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A locale in the United States.; An unincorporated community in Pike County, Alabama.
- 7 A locale in the United States.; An unincorporated community in Talladega County, Alabama.
- 8 A locale in the United States.; An unincorporated community in Walker County, Alabama.
- 9 A locale in the United States.; A ghost town in Alaska.
Example
"The chief clerk is not a hardworking man, but gets ahead rapidly because he knows how to curry favor with his superiors."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "curry"?
Common synonyms include: bake, barbecue, baste, beat, bed, bed down.
How do you use "curry" in a sentence?
The chief clerk is not a hardworking man, but gets ahead rapidly because he knows how to curry favor with his superiors.
How do you pronounce "curry"?
Pronounced /ˈkʌ.ɹi/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
1747 (as currey, first published recipe for the dish in English), from Tamil கறி (kaṟi), influenced by existing Middle English cury (“cooking”), from Middle French cuyre (“to cook”) (whence also cuisine), from Vulgar Latin cocere, from Latin coquere. Earlier cury found in 1390 cookbook Forme of Cury (Forms of Cooking) by court chefs of Richard II of England.
Etymology 2
From Middle English currayen, from Old French correer (“to prepare”), presumably from Vulgar Latin *conredare, from Latin com- (a form of con- (“with; together”)) + a verb derived from Proto-Germanic *raidaz. More at ready.
Etymology 3
Named after American mathematician Haskell Curry.
Etymology 4
Possibly derived from currier, a common 16th- to 18th-century form of courier, as if to ride post, to post. Possibly influenced by scurry.