noun / verb
curl
KURL/kɜːrl/
A curved or coiled shape or movement.
A man curls gift ribbon by drawing it across a scissor blade.
Etymology
The adjective meaning “curly” became a verb for turning or bending something into ringlets. The sense of taking on a spiral shape oneself was originally used of hair.
In context
use these early irons to curl their hair or traditionally wigmaker's preferred a technique called papillote curling where you curled up small sections of hair folded that into triangles of wax paper
More examples
- A loose curl falls across her forehead.
- She does ten biceps curls with a light dumbbell.
- He curls the soccer ball around the wall of defenders.
Forms
curl · curls · curled · curling
curly adjective — Having curves, coils, or ringlets.