Is it incorrect to say "we've found the cure to cancer," rather than, "we've found the cure for cancer?"

Question

I feel as though I've always used them interchangeably, but my boss is arguing that it's grammatically incorrect to say "the cure to" and that it should always be "the cure for." "For" is obviously much more common but I have seen both. So, is it incorrect to say "the cure to," or is it just less common?

Answer 1

The word "for" is the best choice. There is no technical reason why, but convention dictates that the latter simply sounds better, so frequent is the usage. For example, I might say "I have the answer for your question." But the overwhelming usage in English calls for the preposition "to" in that sentence, for the same reason that "for" is used in your original query. Hope that offers a cure for your headache and an answer to your question!