curb

[kurb]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR curb ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Also British, kerb. a rim, especially of joined stones or concrete, along a street or roadway, forming an edge for a sidewalk.

anything that restrains or controls; a restraint; check.

an enclosing framework or border.

Also called curb bit. a bit used with a bridoon for control of a horse, to which a chain (curb chain) is hooked.

Also called curb market; British, kerb market, kerbstone market. a market, originally on the sidewalk or street, for the sale of securities not listed on a stock exchange.Compare American Stock Exchange.

the framework around the top of a well.

the arris between an upper and a lower slope on a gambrel or mansard roof.

a belt of metal, masonry, etc., for abutting a dome at its base.

(in a windmill) the track on which the cap turns.

Veterinary Pathology. a swelling on the lower part of the back of the hock of a horse, often causing lameness.

Engineering. the cutting edge at the bottom of a caisson.

Carpentry. purlin plate.

verb (used with object)

to control as with a curb; restrain; check.

to cause to keep near the curb: Curb your dog.

Also British, kerb. to furnish with or protect by a curb.

to put a curb on (a horse).

Origin of curb

1250–1300; Middle English curb, courbe curved piece of wood (noun), stooped, hunchbacked (adj.) < Anglo-French curb, courb curved, bowed; Old French < Latin curvus crooked, bent, curved. See curve

Related formscurb·a·ble, adjectivecurb·less, adjectivecurb·like, adjectiveun·curb, verb (used with object)un·curb·a·ble, adjectiveun·curbed, adjective

Can be confusedcurb kerb

Synonyms for curb

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR curb ON THESAURUS.COM

13. bridle, repress.

Synonym study

13. See check¹.

Antonyms for curb

13. encourage.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for curb

restriction, rein, ledge, barrier, restraint, control, hinder, inhibit, suppress, tame, impede, contain, restrain, constrain, hamper, limitation, chain, brake, edge, rim

Examples from the Web for curb

Contemporary Examples of curb

Did you feel like, with Hello Ladies, you wanted your own showcase—your own Curb, so to speak?
Stephen Merchant Talks ‘Hello Ladies’ movie, the Nicole Kidman Cameo, and Legacy of ‘The Office’
Marlow Stern
November 22, 2014
He was shot twice in the head, his body left lying on a curb.
Local Truces Are Syria’s Sad Little Pieces of Peace
Joshua Hersh
November 18, 2014
He had the vehicles moved to the curb outside the dealership.
Mexico’s Murderous SWAT Teams
Jason McGahan
November 10, 2014
“The basic aim of a democratic regime is to curb the use of arbitrary powers against its citizens,” West writes.
How We Got to Ferguson—a Reading List
David Masciotra
August 23, 2014
For instance, some women use it not only to curb premenstrual symptoms, but also to control when they menstruate.
The Pill Is More Than Birth Control
Keli Goff
July 29, 2014

Historical Examples of curb

Obeying a quick impulse, Percival stepped to the curb as she came opposite to him.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Yet what can I say, for all men know that your valor needs the curb and not the spur.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
The cobblestones had gone, and from curb to curb stretched smooth asphalt.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
A disorder which renders the sufferer unable to curb his tongue when you wish to talk.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
And if I were denied the power, I must, as I now do, curb my inclination.
Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for curb

curb

noun

something that restrains or holds back

any enclosing framework, such as a wall of stones around the top of a well

Also called: curb bita horse's bit with an attached chain or strap, which checks the horse
Also called: curb chainthe chain or strap itself

a hard swelling on the hock of a horse

verb (tr)

to control with or as if with a curb; restrain

Word Origin for curb

C15: from Old French courbe curved piece of wood or metal, from Latin curvus curved

curb

noun

vet science a swelling on the leg of a horse, below the point of the hock, usually caused by a sprain

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for curb

late 15c., "strap passing under the jaw of a horse" (used to restrain the animal), from Old French courbe (12c.) "curb on a horse," from Latin curvus, from curvare "to bend" (see curve (v.)). Meaning "enclosed framework" is from 1510s, probably originally with a notion of "curved;" extended to margins of garden beds 1731; to "margin of stone between a sidewalk and road" 1791 (sometimes spelled kerb). Figurative sense of "a check, a restraint" is from 1610s.

1520s, of horses, "to lead to a curb," from curb (n.). Figurative use from 1580s. Related: Curbed; curbing.