curtain
a hanging piece of fabric used to shut out the light from a window, adorn a room, increase privacy, etc.
a movable or folding screen used for similar purposes.
Chiefly New England. a window shade.
Theater.
a set of hanging drapery for concealing all or part of the stage or set from the view of the audience.
the act or time of raising or opening a curtain at the start of a performance: an 8:30 curtain.
the end of a scene or act indicated by the closing or falling of a curtain: first-act curtain.
an effect, line, or plot solution at the conclusion of a performance: a strong curtain; weak curtain.
music signaling the end of a radio or television performance.
(used as a direction in a script of a play to indicate that a scene or act is concluded.)
anything that shuts off, covers, or conceals: a curtain of artillery fire.
Architecture. a relatively flat or featureless extent of wall between two pavilions or the like.
Fortification. the part of a wall or rampart connecting two bastions, towers, or the like.
curtains, Slang. the end; death, especially by violence: It looked like curtains for another mobster.
to provide, shut off, conceal, or adorn with, or as if with, a curtain.
Idioms about curtain
draw the curtain on / over,
to bring to a close: to draw the curtain on a long career of public service.
to keep secret.
lift the curtain on,
to commence; start.
to make known or public; disclose: to lift the curtain on a new scientific discovery.
Origin of curtain
1synonym study For curtain
regional variation note For curtain
Other words for curtain
Other words from curtain
- cur·tain·less, adjective
- un·cur·tained, adjective
Words Nearby curtain
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use curtain in a sentence
It also has pulled back the curtain on the significant limitations the IRS faces with technology and with its workforce.
There are curtains in an off-site storage facility going back to at least the 1960s, she says, carefully preserved and wrapped in muslin.
Presidents come and go, but these curtains are forever | Jura Koncius | February 1, 2021 | Washington PostAs the curtain of night falls, find the planet Mars high in the southwest heavens, hanging in the constellation Aries when February begins.
Skywatch: What’s happening in the heavens in February | Blaine P. Friedlander Jr. | January 30, 2021 | Washington PostThat too is changing as we come to understand the wizard behind the curtain.
'We Need a Fundamental Reset.' Shoshana Zuboff on Building an Internet That Lets Democracy Flourish | Billy Perrigo | January 22, 2021 | TimeThat is changing as we come to understand the wizard behind the curtain.
Big Tech's Business Model Is a Threat to Democracy. Here's How to Build a Fairer Digital Future | Billy Perrigo | January 22, 2021 | Time
After the curtain calls, Christopher comes back to explain a complicated math problem.
Hedwig, Hugh & Michael Cera: 12 Powerhouse Theater Performances of 2014 | Janice Kaplan | December 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThey keep their heads low while running behind a large curtain covering the opening between two housing blocks.
For anyone who cared to watch, the event and its denouement provided a graphic demonstration that the Iron curtain was crumbling.
The last time a Pope addressed the parliament in Strasbourg was in 1988 when an Iron curtain still divided the continent.
The insurrectionists seemed actors in a surreal episode of revolutionary play-acting in which the curtain was about to fall.
She walked away toward another door, which was masked with a curtain that she lifted.
Confidence | Henry JamesI seized the opportunity to watch what I supposed would be a most interesting interview, from behind a curtain.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsShe thrust a bare, white arm from the curtain which shielded her open door, and received the cup from his hands.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinWe haven't even seen a review of the piece; the footlights go up with a jump, and now the curtain rises.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsThe overture is over, the curtain is about to rise on the drama of Georgie's married life.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James Wills
British Dictionary definitions for curtain
/ (ˈkɜːtən) /
a piece of material that can be drawn across an opening or window, to shut out light or to provide privacy
a barrier to vision, access, or communication: a curtain of secrecy
a hanging cloth or similar barrier for concealing all or part of a theatre stage from the audience
the curtain the end of a scene of a play, opera, etc, marked by the fall or closing of the curtain
the rise or opening of the curtain at the start of a performance
(tr sometimes foll by off) to shut off or conceal with or as if with a curtain
(tr) to provide (a window, etc) with curtains
Origin of curtain
1- See also curtains
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with curtain
In addition to the idioms beginning with curtain
- curtain raiser
- curtains for, be.
also see:
- draw the curtain
- raise the curtain
- ring down the curtain
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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