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curtain
[kur-tn]
noun
a hanging piece of fabric used to shut out the light from a window, adorn a room, increase privacy, etc.
Synonyms: , , ,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.
Slang.curtains, the end; death, especially by violence.
It looked like curtains for another mobster.
verb (used with object)
to provide, shut off, conceal, or adorn with, or as if with, a curtain.
curtain
/ ˈɜːə /
noun
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 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
verb
to shut off or conceal with or as if with a curtain
(tr) to provide (a window, etc) with curtains
Other Word Forms
- curtainless adjective
- uncurtained adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of curtain1
Idioms and Phrases
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.
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
And then, the curtain call, to remind you that whatever came before, the actors are fine, drinking in your appreciation and sending you out happy and exhilarated and perhaps full of hope.
She rushed to her bedroom and closed the curtains, concerned about how long the drone had been there and whether it had seen her naked on her property earlier that day.
When you’re on the stage, the curtain goes up and then it comes down, and between that, between those two moments, it’s yours.
“Then there’s a particular part of the end. Yes, the war cry is delightful to sing,” she says, referring to the heroic vocal lick that brings down the curtain on Part 1 of the movie.
There is an electric moment between the time a stage manager calls “places” and the curtain rises, Torres says.
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When To Use
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.
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.
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