curtain
Americannoun
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a hanging piece of fabric used to shut out the light from a window, adorn a room, increase privacy, etc.
- Synonyms:
- valance, lambrequin, portiere, drapery
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a movable or folding screen used for similar purposes.
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Chiefly New England. a window shade.
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Theater.
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a set of hanging drapery for concealing all or part of the stage or set from the view of the audience.
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the act or time of raising or opening a curtain at the start of a performance.
an 8:30 curtain.
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the end of a scene or act indicated by the closing or falling of a curtain.
first-act curtain.
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an effect, line, or plot solution at the conclusion of a performance.
a strong curtain; weak curtain.
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music signaling the end of a radio or television performance.
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(used as a direction in a script of a play to indicate that a scene or act is concluded.)
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anything that shuts off, covers, or conceals.
a curtain of artillery fire.
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Architecture. a relatively flat or featureless extent of wall between two pavilions or the like.
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Fortification. the part of a wall or rampart connecting two bastions, towers, or the like.
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Slang. curtains, the end; death, especially by violence.
It looked like curtains for another mobster.
verb (used with object)
idioms
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draw the curtain on / over,
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to bring to a close.
to draw the curtain on a long career of public service.
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to keep secret.
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lift the curtain on,
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to commence; start.
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to make known or public; disclose.
to lift the curtain on a new scientific discovery.
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noun
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a piece of material that can be drawn across an opening or window, to shut out light or to provide privacy
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a barrier to vision, access, or communication
a curtain of secrecy
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a hanging cloth or similar barrier for concealing all or part of a theatre stage from the audience
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the end of a scene of a play, opera, etc, marked by the fall or closing of the curtain
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the rise or opening of the curtain at the start of a performance
verb
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to shut off or conceal with or as if with a curtain
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(tr) to provide (a window, etc) with curtains
Usage
What does curtain mean? A curtain is a sheet of fabric that’s typically hung from the wall or ceiling to cover or decorate a window or to separate two spaces, such as a theater’s stage from its seating area. Along with blinds and shades, curtains are commonly used as window coverings in people’s homes. They can function to block light from the window, to cover it for privacy, or simply as decorations. In the context of theater, curtain has several more specific uses. The literal curtain on a stage is used to conceal the stage until the performance is ready to be seen. The word is also used in a few figurative ways. It can refer to the starting time of a performance, as in Curtain is at 2 p.m. or We have a 7 o’clock curtain. This sense of the word refers to the when the literal curtain opens. Another sense of the word refers to when the curtain closes—it refers to the end of a scene or act, as in the second-act curtain. Curtain can also refer to the conclusion of a performance or a plot solution at the end, as in I liked the play, but I thought the curtain was weak. The fact that most plays end with the stage curtains being closed has led to the use of the word curtains as a slang expression referring to the end or death of something, often in an exaggerated way, as in It will be curtains for me if I don’t pass this test. A curtain call is when the performers return to the stage to acknowledge continued applause from the audience at the end of the performance (often after the curtain has closed). Example: I got a blackout curtain for my room that doesn’t let any sunlight in.
Synonym Usage
Curtain, blind, shade, shutter agree in being covers for a window, to shut out light or keep persons from looking in. Curtain, blind, and shade may mean a cover, usually of cloth, which can be rolled up and down inside the window. Curtain, however, may also refer to a drapery at a window; and a Venetian blind consists of slats mounted on tapes for drawing up or down and varying the pitch of the slats. Blind and shutter may mean a cover made of two wooden frames with movable slats, attached by hinges outside a window and pulled together or opened at will. Shutters may mean also a set of panels (wooden or iron) put up outside small shops or stores at closing time
Regionalisms
See window shade.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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curtainsimple
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curtainssimple
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have curtainedperfect
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has curtainedperfect
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am curtainingprogressive
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are curtainingprogressive
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is curtainingprogressive
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have been curtainingperfect progressive
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has been curtainingperfect progressive
Past
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curtainedsimple
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had curtainedperfect
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was curtainingprogressive
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were curtainingprogressive
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had been curtainingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of curtain
1250–1300; Middle English co ( u ) rtine < Anglo-French, Old French < Late Latin cortīna, probably equivalent to co ( ho ) rt- (stem of cohors; see court) + -īna -ine 1, as calque of Greek aulaía curtain, derivative of aulḗ courtyard
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:
A four-part documentary offers a look behind the curtain of the infamous Nevada festival Burning Man, examining its trials and tribulations over five years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Today, Florida’s new laws force boards to pull back the curtain on the physical and financial health of the entire facility.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
"The chirp in this supernova signal is like that engine pulling back the curtain and revealing that it's really there."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026
The actors, seasoned veterans as well as young amateurs, go through their lines and movements one last time before the curtain rises at the Wole Soyinka Theatre at the University of Ibadan, in southwest Nigeria.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
When Sydney peered out from behind the curtain, she saw an endless sea of faces.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Audit your vents and outdoor unit: Ensure furniture, rugs or curtains aren’t blocking indoor supply or return vents.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026
"It's a struggle, we're just trying to keep everyone cool, hydrated and keeping the curtains closed," she said.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
It appears to be curtains again for “All My Children,” the soap opera that ran four decades on ABC before being canceled, then resurrected as an Internet series.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
If you are working from home, close curtains to block out the sun.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
It had a roof with roll-down side curtains.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Mr. Noseda seems slightly amused by the weirdness of these curtained interviews.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
When they got closer to the cave - the entrance to which had been curtained off with brightly coloured saris - "a little blonde girl came running out".
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2025
Many people spoke to the room outside of the curtained area, but what they said was not included as official testimony.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 3, 2023
How heavily the rain fell could be inferred from how well it curtained our view of objects in the landscape.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 16, 2022
He found his place near to the road, a little clearing where deer might have lain, and it was curtained thickly with the dry brittle trees that lined the road.
From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck
He can no longer hold back this rage that he has been curtaining off with these civil gestures.
From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2023
Cedars-Sinai has recruited more staff and expanded areas to care for patients, including curtaining off places in the hospital as “alternative care units.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2022
The curtaining of the Carnegie disappointed a stream of hungry would-be customers on Monday, many of them tourists who went out of their way to test their tolerance for protein.
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2015
In one year the F. W. Woolworth Co. sold 45 tons of candy, 5,113 miles of curtaining, 54 million handkerchiefs.
From Time Magazine Archive
He glanced up—a cloud was rolling from beyond the cliffs, was swiftly curtaining the blue.
From The Cost by Phillips, David Graham
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.
