curtain Definition
cur·tain (kʉrt′'n)
noun
- a piece of cloth or other material, sometimes arranged so that it can be drawn up or sideways, hung for decoration, as at a window, or to cover, conceal, or shut off something
- anything that covers, conceals, separates, or shuts off a curtain of fog
- that part of a wall between two bastions, gates, etc.
- Archit. an enclosing wall that does not support a roof
- Theater
- the large drape or hanging screen at the front of the stage, which is drawn up or aside to reveal the stage
- the opening of the curtain at the beginning, or its closing at the end, of a play, act, or scene
- an effect, line, or situation in a play just before the curtain closes
- curtain call
- ☆ Slang death; the end
Etymology: ME & OFr cortine < LL(Ec) cortina, lit. a cauldron, enclosing circle of a theater, curtain (< IE base *(s)ker-, to curve); used in Vulg. instead of L cors, cohors (see court) to translate Gr aulaia, curtain (esp. in a theater) < aulē, open court, taken as if same word as L aula, pot: for IE base see oven
transitive verb
- to provide or decorate with a curtain
- to cover, conceal, or shut off as with a curtain
curtain Idioms
draw the curtain on
or drop the curtain on- to end
- to conceal
lift the curtain on
or raise the curtain on- to begin
- to reveal
curtain Synonyms
curtain
n.
Kinds of curtains include: fiberglass curtain, jalousie, draw curtain, roller shade, pleated shade, shutter, portiere, arras, valance, lambrequin, purdah (East Indian), Venetian blind(s), mini-blind(s), vertical blind(s), Austrian drape(s).
draw the curtain on
lift the curtain on
curtain Usage Examples
Converse of object
- shower: Potato Sorting Back at the ranch, Val had more potatoes drying off on old shower curtains laid on the lawn.
- pull: A joy to pull the curtains in the morning!
- draw: He draws the curtains on his bedroom window to block out the view.
- hang: Simply hang the 3ft long plastic door curtain across any standard sized door way to create the effect of entering the real wild west.
- shut: GM backtoparents Mar 1 2006, 02:26 PM Are you shutting the curtains during the day?
- drape: It was converted into a rudimentary studio by draping heavy black curtains on the walls to deaden the noise from the passing trains.
Preposition: at
dusk: Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows.
Adjective modifier
- black-out: My husband remembered there used to be black-out curtains in the basement which were still there.
- net: A peek behind the net curtains into a world we don't want to look at.
- ready-made: I also needed a great deal of assistance & help to understand why these ready-made curtains would cost me £ 299.
Modifies a noun
- raiser: This is a curtain raiser for their May issue which will focus on Linux.
- airbag: Blame the mass of safety equipment, of which the Sirion has plenty, including curtain airbags.
- pole: Now at that time, we didn't have any curtains, nor even a curtain pole on the back kitchen window.
- wall: The large glass windows are a curtain wall with the cast iron behind bearing the weight.
Noun used with modifier
- velvet: Well, hidden behind drawn velvet curtains you will find a back room cinema furnished like a Bedouin tent.
- blackout: How wonderful it was to be able to switch on the lights indoor without worrying about pulling the blackout curtains.
- lace: Periton's new work for Gallery 4 will hang over the windows like intricate lace curtains.
- stalactite: In it are some fine white stalactite curtains and straws up to three feet long.
- iron: We were just seeing each other's faces behind the iron curtains.
- gauze: Through the gauze curtain our eyes were all riveted upon the scene within.
Browse dictionary entries near curtain
- ‹ curtailment
- ‹ curtail
- ‹ curt
- ‹ cursory
- ‹ cursorial
- ‹ cursor
- ‹ cursive
- ‹ cursed
- ‹ curse
- ‹ currycomb
- curtain call ›
- curtain lecture ›
- curtain raiser ›
- curtain speech ›
- curtain wall ›
- curtal ›
- curtal ax ›
- curtate ›
- curtesy ›
- curtilage ›

