curl

American  

[kurl] / kɜrl /

verb (used with object)

• curls,
  present (3rd person singular)
• curled,
  past participle,  past
• curling
  present participle

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)

• curls,
  present (3rd person singular)
• curled,
  past participle,  past
• curling
  present participle

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

• curls
  plural

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• curls
  plural

Participles

• curling
  present
• curled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• curl
  simple
• curls
  simple
• have curled
  perfect
• has curled
  perfect
• am curling
  progressive
• are curling
  progressive
• is curling
  progressive
• have been curling
  perfect progressive
• has been curling
  perfect progressive

Past

• curled
  simple
• had curled
  perfect
• was curling
  progressive
• were curling
  progressive
• had been curling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will curl
  simple
• will have curled
  perfect
• will be curling
  progressive
• will have been curling
  perfect progressive

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

See Examples For:

curl curls curled curling

The effect relies on the same basic behavior that can cause the bottom edge of a cut T-shirt to curl upward.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

The next morning he took a patched-together, roundabout subway route back home to Manhattan, and the train came up from a tunnel and started to curl north.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

While meeting his family, while sipping wine in front of the Eiffel Tower, while feeling the bend of his body curl into mine at night, I wondered where my dress was.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

From here he often opted to curl the ball into the far post with his stronger right foot, but could just as easily drag his shot inside the near post at the last moment.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

She wanted nothing more than to curl up on the couch with her family and never have to think about Morris again.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

She's also delighted to return to her character's trademark vivid curls and brightly coloured outfits.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

“I’m really excited to wear the sacred bratty curls and the hallowed hoop skirt,” Alaska said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

She is standing in front of The Barefoot Contessa with her dark hair coaxed into perky curls, wearing a matching aubergine button-down and skirt.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

So when he heard on social media that Germans were congregating in Times Square, Altmeks readily pulled on a jersey of his hero Rudi Voller -- plus a wig mimicking the famed striker's blond curls.

From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026

I try not to salivate as fresh steam curls up from the pan.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

“In response,” he writes, “I courageously curled up into the smallest ball I could possibly have imagined and tucked myself into the footwell.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

At just six months old, the leaf monkey curled up inside DNP vet Thanawadee Phaichana's rubber-gloved hand is very small indeed.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

"Some days I just curled into the foetal position and stayed in bed because the pain was so severe," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Although it’s his version of normal, Randolph said he wouldn’t blame the boy if Carter curled up in a ball and sulked about it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Father and Betsie and I were seated around the dining room table, Father replacing watches in their pockets and Betsie doing needlework, our big, black, slightly-Persian cat curled contentedly in her lap.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Wendy the coyote was a fixture in the San Fernando Valley community for years, often spotted wandering around the neighborhood or curling up to sunbathe in a patch of grass, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

The propulsive groove on “Another Life” evokes a thudding drum break pulled from a dusty groove pressed in the early ’70s, as Ms. Howard sings forcefully, moving between a curling falsetto and a feral howl.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Regan Slater: Superb curling free-kick invited Nobel Mendy to attack it for Hull's second.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

A little shimmy in the area to feint away from a defender, then a precise curling finish into the top corner.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Golden threads appeared on his skin like leafy vines curling and coiling.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Related Words

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