curls

Noun

curl (plural curls)

1. A curving piece or lock of hair; a ringlet.
   • My hair doesn't have much curl.

   Synonyms:

   ringlet

2. 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

   Synonyms:

   curlicue, curve, flourish, loop, spiral

3. 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
4. Movement of a moving rock away from a straight line.
5. 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
6. 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...

See all 23 meanings of curl