Dictionary.com
definitions

curb

[kurb]
See more synonyms for curb on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Also British, kerb. a rim, especially of joined stones or concrete, along a street or roadway, forming an edge for a sidewalk.
  2. anything that restrains or controls; a restraint; check.
  3. an enclosing framework or border.
  4. Also called curb bit. a bit used with a bridoon for control of a horse, to which a chain (curb chain) is hooked.
  5. 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.
  6. the framework around the top of a well.
  7. the arris between an upper and a lower slope on a gambrel or mansard roof.
  8. a belt of metal, masonry, etc., for abutting a dome at its base.
  9. (in a windmill) the track on which the cap turns.
  10. Veterinary Pathology. a swelling on the lower part of the back of the hock of a horse, often causing lameness.
  11. Engineering. the cutting edge at the bottom of a caisson.
  12. Carpentry. purlin plate.
verb (used with object)
  1. to control as with a curb; restrain; check.
  2. to cause to keep near the curb: Curb your dog.
  3. Also British, kerb. to furnish with or protect by a curb.
  4. 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 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. 2018

Related Words for curbed

control, hinder, inhibit, suppress, tame, impede, contain, restrain, constrain, hamper, clog, fetter, subdue, cook, abstain, check, muzzle, manacle, leash, ice

Examples from the Web for curbed

Contemporary Examples of curbed

Historical Examples of curbed

  • John Storm curbed himself; he had been through a long schooling.

    The Christian

    Hall Caine

  • That sane impulse was curbed, however, by the consciousness of its futility.

    Scaramouche

    Rafael Sabatini

  • I have curbed and repressed myself not to scare you by precipitancy.

    Scaramouche

    Rafael Sabatini

  • If you could have curbed your impulse and only dreamed your adventures, you would have been the happier.

    The Trail of '98

    Robert W. Service

  • He saw the danger involved in the discussion and curbed his tongue.

British Dictionary definitions for curbed

curb

1
noun
  1. something that restrains or holds back
  2. any enclosing framework, such as a wall of stones around the top of a well
    1. Also called: curb bita horse's bit with an attached chain or strap, which checks the horse
    2. Also called: curb chainthe chain or strap itself
  4. a hard swelling on the hock of a horse
verb (tr)
  1. to control with or as if with a curb; restrain
See also kerb

Word Origin for curb

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

curb

2
noun
  1. 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 curbed

curb

v.

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

curb

n.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper