curb
- 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.
- 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
Synonyms for curb
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comSynonym study
Antonyms for curb
Related Words for curbed
control, hinder, inhibit, suppress, tame, impede, contain, restrain, constrain, hamper, clog, fetter, subdue, cook, abstain, check, muzzle, manacle, leash, iceExamples from the Web for curbed
Contemporary Examples of curbed
Surely the unruly use of antibiotics in animal feed can and must be curbed.
At the end, those very forces whose influence he thought would be curbed had claimed his life.
A Friend’s Tribute to Ambassador Chris Stevens: The Diplomatic Indiana JonesRoya Hakakian
September 13, 2012
Historical Examples of curbed
John Storm curbed himself; he had been through a long schooling.
The ChristianHall Caine
That sane impulse was curbed, however, by the consciousness of its futility.
ScaramoucheRafael Sabatini
I have curbed and repressed myself not to scare you by precipitancy.
ScaramoucheRafael Sabatini
If you could have curbed your impulse and only dreamed your adventures, you would have been the happier.
The Trail of '98Robert W. Service
He saw the danger involved in the discussion and curbed his tongue.
The Secret of the Storm CountryGrace Miller White
curb
1- 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
- to control with or as if with a curb; restrain
Word Origin for curb
curb
2- vet science a swelling on the leg of a horse, below the point of the hock, usually caused by a sprain
Word Origin and History for curbed
curb
1520s, of horses, "to lead to a curb," from curb (n.). Figurative use from 1580s. Related: Curbed; curbing.
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.