Dictionary.com

curtail

1
[ ker-teyl ]
/ kərˈteɪl /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: curtail / curtailed / curtailing / curtailment on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
to cut short; cut off a part of; abridge; reduce; diminish.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Origin of curtail

1
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English curtailen “to restrict” (said of royal succession or inheritance), probably a conflation of Middle French courtau(l)d (see curtal) and Middle English taillen “to cut” (see taille, tailor1)

synonym study for curtail

See shorten.

OTHER WORDS FROM curtail

Other definitions for curtail (2 of 2)

curtail2
[ kur-teyl ]
/ ˈkɜrˌteɪl /

noun Architecture.
a horizontal, spiral termination to the lower end of a stair railing.
Also called curtail step . a starting step having a scroll termination to one or both ends of the tread.

Origin of curtail

2
Probably alteration, by folk etymology, of curtal
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use curtail in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for curtail

curtail
/ (kɜːˈteɪl) /

verb
(tr) to cut short; abridge

Derived forms of curtail

curtailer, nouncurtailment, noun

Word Origin for curtail

C16: changed (through influence of tail 1) from obsolete curtal to dock; see curtal
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
FEEDBACK