curtail
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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curtails,
present (3rd person singular)
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curtailed,
past participle, past
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curtailing
present participle
noun
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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.
verb
Synonym Usage
See shorten.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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curtailsimple
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curtailssimple
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have curtailedperfect
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has curtailedperfect
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am curtailingprogressive
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are curtailingprogressive
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is curtailingprogressive
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have been curtailingperfect progressive
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has been curtailingperfect progressive
Past
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curtailedsimple
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had curtailedperfect
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was curtailingprogressive
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were curtailingprogressive
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had been curtailingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of curtail1
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, tailor 1)
Origin of curtail2
Probably alteration, by folk etymology, of curtal
Explanation
To curtail something is to slow it down, put restrictions on it, or stop it entirely. If I give up cake, I am curtailing my cake-eating. Curtail is an official-sounding word for stopping or slowing things down. The police try to curtail crime — they want there to be less crime in the world. A company may want to curtail their employees' computer time, so they spend more time working and less time goofing around. Teachers try to curtail whispering and note-passing in class. When something is curtailed, it's either stopped entirely or stopped quite a bit — it's cut short.
Vocabulary lists containing curtail
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "B" & "C"
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This Week in Words: Feb. 25 - Mar. 2, 2018
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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:
That provision would curtail a longstanding practice of leaving work early known as an “early shove,” the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Higher diesel costs would also curtail supplies of fertilizer and other chemicals that farmers use to grow crops, they argued.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Executive adviser Flavio Briatore, who has caused controversy off track this weekend, persuaded Renault to curtail their F1 engine programme at the end of last year and switch to customer Mercedes power-units.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
As somebody with roots in musical theater, did you have to curtail some of those instincts that you might’ve had to be a little more expressive?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
But now I understand the gravity of what I was proposing— that a four-year-old child be watchful, prudent, and shrewd, that I curtail your happiness, that you submit to a loss of time.
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Admittedly, Ms. Browne’s culling and slimming at times curtails crucial information.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The president signed an executive order on Friday that further curtails Havana’s access to the global banking system.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
But Green Party leader Zack Polanski has said it would be wrong if Wednesday's "abhorrent" attack "curtails our civil liberties".
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
This hits the economy in two ways: boosting inflation and dampening disposable income which curtails growth.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 2, 2026
"I quite agree with you, though I must add that religion distinctly curtails for us the domain of the mysterious."
From The Schoolmaster by Constance Garnett
The Slovenia forward, a £74m signing from RB Leipzig in August 2025, suffered a recurrence of the shin injury that curtailed his 2025-26 season in last month's EFL Cup defeat by Brighton.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Rations were further curtailed in 2008, when reformist ex-president Raul Castro eliminated what he called "undue subsidies and freebies" such as cigars, toothpaste and oil.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Yet, if capex is curtailed, that may also be a problem.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
“When surface water diversions are curtailed, the effect on streamflow is immediate. That is not the case with groundwater pumping. It could be weeks, months or years before groundwater pumping impacts a stream.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Every possibility of excess was curtailed with it.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
Has the time come for the Dodgers to consider curtailing his pitching?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Dealmaking by private-equity firms that private-credit funds lend to has slowed down, curtailing the number of lucrative new loans to be made.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
It’s also unclear whether restricted eating times would help those who don’t need to lose weight or whether further curtailing the time of eating would make even greater improvements in cognition, Shapses said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
One cloud on the horizon is the possible impact of rising fuel costs, which could end up curtailing Europeans' foreign travel.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
It would be for her a well-spring from which she would draw the most destructive emotions, deceiving the lover and seeking to imprison the beloved, curtailing freedom in every way.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
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