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
• 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”; cruller ”

Example Sentences

The young Venezuelan curled it round the keeper with a first-time shot, inside the back post.

From Barron's

Alexander-Arnold curled a free-kick wide as the clock ticked down and it looked like Madrid were left ruing two points dropped, when the third was taken away from them too.

From Barron's

Eight men sliding 16 stones down an ice sheet to the soundtrack of clunking granite, furious sweeping and hollered commands of "hard" and "curl".

From BBC

She is a fashionable woman, with corkscrew curls coming down in front of her ears.

From The Wall Street Journal

Home from their adventures—and with the picture book right side up again—the four children curl up by the fireplace with steaming mugs of hot cocoa.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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