curt
adjective
rudely brief in speech or abrupt in manner.
curt
1 American
[kurt]
/ kɜrt /
adjective
-
curter,
comparative
-
curtest
superlative
-
rudely brief in speech or abrupt in manner.
-
brief; concise; terse; laconic.
-
short; shortened.
- Synonyms:
- abbreviated
Curt
2
American
[kurt]
/ kɜrt /
noun
curt
British
/ kɜːt /
adjective
-
rudely blunt and brief; abrupt
a curt reply
-
short or concise
Synonym Usage
See blunt.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of curt
First recorded in 1620–30, curt is from the Latin word curtus “shortened, short, cut short”
Explanation
I’m sorry to be curt, but let's get right to the point. You should use the adjective curt to describe a way of speaking that’s brief and blunt. Curt often just means "terse." In fact it comes from the Latin word curtus, which means “cut short, abridged.” But sometimes it has the added sense of being rudely short, like when you’re irritated that someone’s asking a foolish question so you give a brusque, curt response.
Vocabulary lists containing curt
The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 7
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List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"Immediately, it was as if we were wasting this doctor's time and he was quite curt with Meg," Helen said.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026
A few unnecessarily curt speech interruptions threatened the calm, but mainly, this was a smoothly run machine of a show, devoid of mishaps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026
Chalamet’s words were curt, but his opinion was only further muddled by the clip being spread out of context.
From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2026
Until, that is, I noticed myself crossing some invisible line: I wasn’t just focused; I was curt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025
He greeted me with a curt nod of his head and muttered something about not really being in the mood for Talmud now but we had to go up anyway.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
Curt Menefee again is the host, with analysts Tom Amoss and Richard Migliore, plus handicappers Jonathan Kinchen and Chris Fallica, with other contributors such as Charissa Thompson and Tom Rinaldi.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
Offensive assistant Frank Cignetti Jr. is the younger brother of Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, and new receiver coach Adam Henry was the co-offensive coordinator at Indiana in 2022 and helped recruit Cooper.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026
“He decided to be extremely quiet and stay as far away from the Iran debacle as possible,” said Curt Mills, the executive director of the American Conservative Magazine, an anti-interventionist publication.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
Delgado-Aparicio and Regan led the project with guidance from Curt Bolton of FES.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 3, 2026
Curt came into the kitchen, smiling shyly, his hair slightly wet, wearing a fresh, light cologne.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Karim gave a curt reply in Russian, which the soldier returned with an even curter retort.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
The knight began to take long walks and rides with his brother, and from each walk and ride came back with a more gloomy face and a curter manner.
From The Story of Francis Cludde by Stanley John Weyman
Maybe the possessive form of address: "Mon general," "mon capitaine," helps the idea, which our men cloke in other and curter phrases.
From France at War On the Frontier of Civilization by Rudyard Kipling
"See here, Mr. Jarnock," I said, perhaps rather curter than I should have done, considering what I had to say.
From Carnacki, the Ghost Finder by William Hope Hodgson
Saxham's patients found him even curter and more brusque in manner than usual that evening, and the article for the Scientific Review made little way.
From The Dop Doctor by Richard Dehan
Luis Enrique thought for a couple of seconds, looked straight back at the questioner, and gave the curtest of replies.
From Fox News ● Jul. 5, 2021
He came from behind a sea of maps to grant the curtest interview I have ever had.
From Time Magazine Archive
Men ceased speaking to him, or greeted him with the curtest of nods.
From The Rules of the Game by Stewart Edward White
Yet by now I was so goaded to indignant anger that I held my head high and met his stern glance with the curtest of bows.
From A Volunteer with Pike The True Narrative of One Dr. John Robinson and of His Love for the Fair Señorita Vallois by Robert Ames Bennet
"We have finished our business—and Mr. Lathrop I am sure will excuse me—I must get some letters off by post—" And with the curtest of bows she disappeared.
From Delia Blanchflower by Mrs. Humphry Ward
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
