curl

American  

[kurl] / kɜrl /

verb (used with object)

1. to form into coils or ringlets, as the hair.

2. to form into a spiral or curved shape; coil.

3. to adorn with, or as with, curls or ringlets.

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verb (used without object)

1. to grow in or form curls or ringlets, as the hair.

2. to become curved or undulated.

3. to coil.

4. to play at the game of curling.

5. to progress in a curving direction or path; move in a curving or spiraling way.

   The ball curled toward the plate.

noun

1. a coil or ringlet of hair.

2. anything of a spiral or curved shape, as a lettuce leaf, wood shaving, etc.

3. a coil.

4. the act of curling or state of being curled.

5. Plant Pathology.

   1. the distortion, fluting, or puffing of a leaf, resulting from the unequal development of its two sides.

   2. a disease so characterized.

6. Also called rotation.  Mathematics.

   1. a vector obtained from a given vector by taking its cross product with the vector whose coordinates are the partial derivative operators with respect to each coordinate.

   2. the operation that produces this vector.

7. Weightlifting.

   1. an underhand forearm lift in which the barbell, held against the thighs, is raised to the chest and then lowered while keeping the legs, upper arms, and shoulders taut.

   2. a similar forearm lift using a dumbbell or dumbbells, usually from the side of the body to the shoulders.

verb phrase

1. curl up to sit or lie down cozily.

   to curl up with a good book.

idioms

1. curl one's lip, to assume or display an expression of contempt.

   He curled his lip in disdain.

2. curl one's / the hair, to fill with horror or fright; shock.

   Some of his stories about sailing across the Atlantic are enough to curl one's hair.

curl British  

/ kɜːl /

verb

1. (intr) (esp of hair) to grow into curves or ringlets

2. to twist or roll (something, esp hair) into coils or ringlets

3. (often foll by up) to become or cause to become spiral-shaped or curved; coil

   the heat made the leaves curl up

4. (intr) to move in a curving or twisting manner

5. (intr) to play the game of curling

6. to show contempt, as by raising a corner of the lip

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noun

1. a curve or coil of hair

2. a curved or spiral shape or mark, as in wood

3. the act of curling or state of being curled

4. any of various plant diseases characterized by curling of the leaves

5. Also called: rot.   rotation.  maths a vector quantity associated with a vector field that is the vector product of the operator ∇ and a vector function A , where ∇ = i ∂/∂ x + j ∂/∂b y + k ∂/∂ z, i , j , and k being unit vectors. Usually written curl A , rot A Compare divergence gradient

Other Word Forms

• curledly
  adverb
• curledness
  noun
• intercurl
  verb
• undercurl
  noun
• undercurl
  verb
• well-curled
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of curl

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, apparently back formation from curled, variant of Middle English crulled (past participle) crul (adjective); compare Middle Dutch crullen “to curl”; see also cruller ”

Explanation

Things that curl bend in a spiral or circular shape. When you curl your hair, you use heat to make it wavy and coiled. You can curl a lock of hair around your finger, or curl your body up in a chair. You can also call the shape you're forming a curl. A completely different way to curl is to play the Olympic sport known as curling, which is a little like shuffleboard on ice. The sport comes from Scotland, and the word probably comes from the Middle Dutch krul, "curly."

Example Sentences

The trophy was decided by a penalty shootout, with Sweden prevailing 4-3 after Curl was unable to convert her spot-kick.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

On Friday, the Rams and Curl agreed to terms on a three-year extension, people with knowledge of the situation said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

In January, the makers of Curl software abandoned their own bug bounty program, citing “an explosion in AI slop reports.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

Ardern and her husband were seen scoping out properties for sale in Sydney's beachside northern suburbs of Freshwater and Curl Curl, property website realestate.com.au said.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

Her Living Curl had long since been pronounced dead, and on the whole she appeared to be adapted to within an inch of her life.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Related Words

• buckle
• coil
• contort
• curve
• fold
• twirl
• twist
• writhe