Library / English Dictionary

CURL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A strand or cluster of hair

Synonyms:

curl; lock; ringlet; whorl

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("curl" is a kind of...):

hair (a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "curl"):

sausage curl (a fat sausage-shaped curl)

forelock (a lock of hair growing (or falling) over the forehead)

crimp (a lock of hair that has been artificially waved or curled)

dreadlock (one of many long thin braids of hair radiating from the scalp; popularized by Rastafarians)

Holonyms ("curl" is a part of...):

coif; coiffure; hair style; hairdo; hairstyle (the arrangement of the hair (especially a woman's hair))

Derivation:

curl (twist or roll into coils or ringlets)

curly ((of hair) having curls or waves)

Sense 2

Meaning:

American chemist who with Richard Smalley and Harold Kroto discovered fullerenes and opened a new branch of chemistry (born in 1933)

Synonyms:

Curl; Robert Curl; Robert F. Curl; Robert Floyd Curl Jr.

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Instance hypernyms:

chemist (a scientist who specializes in chemistry)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals)

Synonyms:

coil; curl; curlicue; gyre; ringlet; roll; scroll; whorl

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("curl" is a kind of...):

round shape (a shape that is curved and without sharp angles)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "curl"):

corolla ((botany) the whorl of petals of a flower that collectively form an inner floral envelope or layer of the perianth)

calyx ((botany) the whorl of sepals of a flower collectively forming the outer floral envelope or layer of the perianth enclosing and supporting the developing bud; usually green)

verticil (a whorl of leaves growing around a stem)

Derivation:

curl (form a curl, curve, or kink)

curl (wind around something in coils or loops)

curl (shape one's body into a curl)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Form a curl, curve, or kink

Example:

the cigar smoke curled up at the ceiling

Synonyms:

curl; curve; kink

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "curl" is one way to...):

change surface (undergo or cause to undergo a change in the surface)

"Curl" entails doing...:

bend; deform; flex; turn; twist (cause (a plastic object) to assume a crooked or angular form)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

curl (a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Play the Scottish game of curling

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "curl" is one way to...):

play (participate in games or sport)

Domain category:

athletics; sport (an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

curling (a game played on ice in which heavy stones with handles are slid toward a target)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Twist or roll into coils or ringlets

Example:

curl my hair, please

Synonyms:

curl; wave

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "curl" is one way to...):

twist (turn in the opposite direction)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "curl"):

crape; crimp; frizz; frizzle; kink; kink up (curl tightly)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They curl their hair

Derivation:

curl (a strand or cluster of hair)

curler (a mechanical device consisting of a cylindrical tube around which the hair is wound to curl it)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Wind around something in coils or loops

Synonyms:

coil; curl; loop

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "curl" is one way to...):

roll; twine; wind; wrap (arrange or or coil around)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Sentence examples:

They curl the wire around the stick

The wires curl around the stick

Derivation:

curl (a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals))

Sense 5

Meaning:

Shape one's body into a curl

Example:

She fell and drew in

Synonyms:

curl; curl up; draw in

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "curl" is one way to...):

bend; flex (form a curve)

Verb group:

attract; draw; draw in; pull; pull in (direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

curl (a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals))

Credits

 Context examples: 

He shifted on past her to the doctor, though the slightest smile curled his lip in appreciation of the way she had trapped him.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

A shaft of sunlight smote the over-curl, and I caught a glimpse of translucent, rushing green, backed by a milky smother of foam.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Thick clouds of smoke curled through the room and out at the open window.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The Inspector opened his eyes, and the Colonel’s lip curled in a sneer.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Their most trivial action may mean volumes, or their most extraordinary conduct may depend upon a hairpin or a curling tongs.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The sheets were made of blue cloth, and Dorothy slept soundly in them till morning, with Toto curled up on the blue rug beside her.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

The hair was curled, and the maid sent away, and Emma sat down to think and be miserable.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

His eyebrows were very massive, almost meeting over the nose, and with bushy hair that seemed to curl in its own profusion.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

A whiff of warm air ascended to his nostrils, and there, curled up under the snow in a snug ball, lay Billee.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

In a jiffy I had slipped over the side and curled up in the fore-sheets of the nearest boat, and almost at the same moment she shoved off.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)