cur

[ kur ]

/ kɜr /

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See synonyms for cur on Thesaurus.com

noun

a mongrel dog, especially a worthless or unfriendly one.

a mean, cowardly person.

OTHER WORDS FOR cur

2 blackguard, cad, heel.

See synonyms for cur on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of cur

1175–1225; Middle English curre, apparently shortened from curdogge.See cur dog

OTHER WORDS FROM cur

curlike, adjective

Other definitions for cur (2 of 2)

cur.

abbreviation

currency.

current.

How to use cur in a sentence

Some were killed, others committed suicide on the burning barges, and the rest were forced to surrender like whipped curs.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist|Alexander Berkman
In Charleston the streets echoed only to the sound of my own footsteps or the snarling of hungry curs.
The Boys of '61|Charles Carleton Coffin.
I will not insult the poor fellows by thinking they could be such curs.
The Young Castellan|George Manville Fenn
You have many enemies that know not / Why they are so, but, like to village curs, / Bark when their fellows do.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources|James Wood

All for peace, the rascal boasts himself, and he beats his wife and kicks his curs at home.
Lord Ormont and his Aminta, Complete|George Meredith

British Dictionary definitions for cur

cur

/ (kɜː) /

noun

any vicious dog, esp a mongrel

a despicable or cowardly person

Word Origin for cur

C13: shortened from kurdogge; probably related to Old Norse kurra to growl

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