curl
UK/kɜːl//kɜɹl/
curl noun: a curving piece or lock of hair; a ringlet.
Noun (1)
curl (plural curls)
- A curving piece or lock of hair; a ringlet.
- My hair doesn't have much curl.
- […]she took it down, looked long and fondly at it, then, shaking her curls about her face, as if to hide the act, pressed it to her lips and seemed to weep over it in an uncontrollable paroxysm of tender grief.1866, Louisa May Alcott, chapter 7, in Behind A Mask or, A Woman's Power
- Synonyms:
- ringlet
- A curved stroke or shape.
- […] the backs of their necks and their forelegs are decorated with curls and their necks and bodies are covered with fine, undulating lines.1995, John Curtis, Julian Reade, Dominique Collon, Art and Empire: Treasures from Assyria in the British Museum, page 184
- A spin making the trajectory of an object curve.
- It is possible to use the wind which blows from the left to the right by playing well into the wind with the slightest bit of curl on the ball[…]1909, Harold Horsfall Hilton, The Six Handicap Golfer's Companion, page 38
- Movement of a moving rock away from a straight line.
- Any exercise performed by bending the arm, wrist, or leg on the exertion against resistance, especially those that train the biceps.
- Now do a curl and an overhead press, keeping your palms facing in.2007 (Jan/Feb), Jon Crosby, "Your Winter Muscle Makeover", Men's Health, page 54
- The vector field denoting the rotationality of a given vector field.
- The curl of the vector field #92;vec#123;F#125;(x,y,z) is the vector field #92;operatorname#123;curl#125;#92;,#92;vec#123;F#125;#92;equiv#92;vec#123;#92;nabla#125;#92;times#92;vec#123;F#125;#61;#92;left(#92;frac#123;#92;partialF#95;z#125;#123;#92;partialy#125;-#92;frac#123;#92;partialF#95;y#125;#123...
- In 2D, when Q is a polygonal domain, the singularities of Type (2) disappear because ψ is the scalar curl of u and is such that its vectorial curl is zero.1995, Erich Prisner, Graph dynamics
- The vector operator, denoted rm curl; or ⃑∇×⃑(·), that generates this field.
- Any of various diseases of plants causing the leaves or shoots to curl up; often specifically the potato curl.
- These potatoes, however, planted the next year, have a fair yield, untouched by the curl.1840, "Farmers' Department", The Family Magazine, volume 1, page 227
- The contrasting light and dark figure seen in wood used for stringed instrument making; the flame.
- The one-piece back is of a medium curl.
- A pattern where the receiver appears to be running a fly pattern but after a set number of steps or yards quickly stops and turns around, looking for a pass.
- A thin, curved piece of chocolate used as decoration.
- The concave part of a breaking wave.
- The main object in surfing is to always remain in the curl.1966, Bruce Brown, director, The Endless Summer
Verb
curl (third-person singular simple present curls, present participle curling, simple past and past participle curled)
- To cause to move in a curve.
- He picked the ball up about forty yards out on the left wing, left a trail of Arsenal defenders in his wake, and curled the ball round Geoff Barnett as he came right out into the far corner.1998, Nick Hornby, Fever Pitch, page 70
- Campbell should have scored but missed with a header from four yards at the far post before Taylor-Fletcher came close to adding a second when he curled an effort over the stranded Reina, who should have been punished for a poor clearance.2011 January 12, Saj Chowdhury, “Liverpool 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC
- To make into a curl or spiral.
- She curls her spine; she wedges a pillow between her knees.2004, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Twelve Times Blessed, page 249
- To assume the shape of a curl or spiral.
- It seemed to me that Mr. St. John's under lip protruded, and his upper lip curled a moment.1847, Charlotte Brontë, chapter XXXI, in Jane Eyre
- To move in curves.
- Clouds curled down from the mountains.1977, Scott O'Dell, Carlota, page 1
- The ball curled to a stop within six inches of the hole.2007, John Coyne, The Caddie Who Knew Ben Hogan, page 97
- To take part in the sport of curling.
- I curl at my local club every weekend.
- To exercise by bending the arm, wrist, or leg on the exertion against resistance, especially of the biceps.
- When curling the weight, bring the barbell up toward the chin, then return it to its starting position. Keep your elbows and upper arms as immobile as possible to isolate the biceps.2008, Joseph Lee Klapper, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Boosting Your Metabolism, page 119
- To twist or form (the hair, etc.) into ringlets.
- But curl their locks with bodkins and with braids1576, George Gascoigne, The Steele Glas, Epilogus
- There was also hairdressing: hairdressing, too, really was hairdressing in those times — no running a comb through it and that was that. It was curled, frizzed, waved, put in curlers overnight, waved with hot tongs;[…].1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN
- To deck with, or as if with, curls; to ornament.
- Thicker than the snakie locks / That curld Megæra.1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- Curling with metaphors a plain intention.1633, George Herbert, Jordan
- To raise in waves or undulations; to ripple.
- Seas would be pools without the brushing air / To curl the waves.1700, [John] Dryden, “The Flower and the Leaf: Or, The Lady in the Arbour. A Vision.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
- To shape (the brim of a hat) into a curve.
Proper noun capitalized: Curl
Curl
- A surname.
Noun (2) capitalized: Curl
Curl (plural Curls)
- Ellipsis of American Curl.
- Longhaired curls should have silky coats of medium length.1998, Stuart A. Kallen, American Curl Cats, page 10
- Curls may be mated with curls.2012, Jerold S. Bell, Kathleen E. Cavanagh, Larry P. Tilley, Francis W. K. Smith, editors, Veterinary Medical Guide to Dog and Cat Breeds, page 501
curl meaning in Marathi, Urdu, Telugu and Kannada
curl in Marathi
- कर्ल, कर्ल करा
curl in Urdu
- کرل, کرل کرنا
curl in Telugu
- curving lock of hair
- కురులు kurulu
curl in Kannada
- ಕರ್ಲ್
More languagesFewer languages
- curl in Gujarati
- કર્લ
- curl in Odia
- କର୍ଲ୍, କର୍ଲ୍ କରନ୍ତୁ, କର୍ଲ କରନ୍ତୁ
- curl in Nepali
- कर्ल, कर्ल गर्न
- curl in Arabic
- جَعْدَة jaʕda
- curl in Persian
- زلف zolf
- Sindhi
- ڦيرو phero, زلف zulfu, موڙ moṛu, لڙهڻ luṛhanu
Examples of curl in a sentence
- On weekends, Emily liked to find a quiet corner and curl up with a good book.
- The teasing of her curls took nearly an hour with the fine-tooth comb.
- He sat on the couch all weekend eating chips and doing twelve-ounce curls.
Synonyms of curl
Antonyms
Forms of curl
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | curls |
| plural | Curls |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | curls |
| present participle | curling |
| past participle | curled |
| past | curled |
Origin of curl
From metathesis of Middle English crulle (“curled, curly”), of uncertain origin but probably from an unrecorded Old English word or from Middle Dutch crul, crulle (“curl”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kruzlǭ (“bent or crooked object, curl”), connected to *krūsą (“curl”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Krulle (“curl, lock”), West Frisian krul (“curl”), Dutch krul (“curl”), German Low German Krull (“curl”), dialectal German Krolle (“curl”), Danish krølle (“curl”), Norwegian Bokmål krøll (“curl”). Related also to Saterland Frisian Kruus (“curl”), German kraus (“frizzy, crumpled, curly”), Danish krus (“curl”), Swedish krusa (“to crimp, curl”). Compare also Gothic 𐌺𐍂𐌹𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 (kriustan, “to grind, crush, gnash”).
* As an English surname, from the noun curl. * As a German surname, variant of Kerl.
Words formed from curl
- barbell curl
- becurl
- bicep curl
- biceps curl
- bluecurls
- blue curls
- cable curl
- cheat curl
- cheese curl
- concentration curl
- curl bar
- curl grub
- curlicue
- curliness
- curlless
- curlpaper
- curl-paper
- curls for the girls
- curl snake
- curlsome
- curl-up
- curly
- dumbbell curl
- executive curl
- hammer curl
- high-cable curl
- Jerry curl
- Jheri curl
- kiss-curl
- kiss curl
- leaf curl
- leg curl
- lipcurl
- love curl
- machine curl
- pin curl
- preacher curl
- reverse curl
- scalar curl
- spit curl
- trunk curl
- Utah curls
- wrist curl
- Zottman curl
- querl
- upcurl
- curlable
- curled
- curler
- curling
- curling iron
- curlingly
- curling tongs
- curl one off
- curl one out
- curl someone's hair
- curl up
- hair-curling
- hair curling
- leaf-curling plum aphid
Phrases with curl
Words that rhyme with curl
Questions about curl
- What does curl mean?
- Curl means a curving piece or lock of hair; a ringlet.
- What is curl in Marathi?
- Curl in Marathi is कर्ल, कर्ल करा. See Curl meaning in Marathi.
- What part of speech is curl?
- Curl can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce curl?
- Curl is pronounced /kɜːl/ (UK).
- What is the plural of curl?
- The plural of curl is curls.
Words near curl in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: curl (page history and authors); Curl (page history and authors); curl (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); curl (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); curl (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); curl (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); curl (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); curl (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-curl.ogg.
Cite this entry: “curl.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/curl. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.