curl.
A curving piece or lock of hair; a ringlet.
Meaning & usage
A curving piece or lock of hair; a ringlet.
My hair doesn't have much curl.
A curved stroke or shape.
A spin making the trajectory of an object curve.
Movement of a moving rock away from a straight line.
Any exercise performed by bending the arm, wrist, or leg on the exertion against resistance, especially those that train the biceps.
The vector field denoting the rotationality of a given vector field.
The curl of the vector field #92;vec#123;F#125;(x,y,z) is the vector field #92;operatorname#123;curl#125;#92;,#92;vec#123;F#125;#92;equiv#92;vec#123;#92;nabla#125;#92;times#92;vec#123;F#125;#61;#92;left(#92;frac#123;#92;partialF#95;z#125;#123;#92;partialy#125;-#92;frac#123;#92;partialF#95;y#125;#123;#92;partialz#125;,#92;frac#123;#92;partialF#95;x#125;#123;#92;partialz#125;-#92;frac#123;#92;partialF#95;z#125;#123;#92;partialx#125;,#92;frac#123;#92;partialF#95;y#125;#123;#92;partialx#125;-#92;frac#123;#92;partialF#95;x#125;#123;#92;partialy#125;#92;right).
The vector operator, denoted rm curl; or ⃑∇×⃑(·), that generates this field.
Any of various diseases of plants causing the leaves or shoots to curl up; often specifically the potato curl.
The contrasting light and dark figure seen in wood used for stringed instrument making; the flame.
The one-piece back is of a medium curl.
A pattern where the receiver appears to be running a fly pattern but after a set number of steps or yards quickly stops and turns around, looking for a pass.
A thin, curved piece of chocolate used as decoration.
The concave part of a breaking wave.
Where this word comes from
From metathesis of Middle English crulle (“curled, curly”), of uncertain origin but probably from an unrecorded Old English word or from Middle Dutch crul, crulle (“curl”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kruzlǭ (“bent or crooked object, curl”), connected to *krūsą (“curl”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Krulle (“curl, lock”), West Frisian krul (“curl”), Dutch krul (“curl”), German Low German Krull (“curl”), dialectal German Krolle (“curl”), Danish krølle (“curl”), Norwegian Bokmål krøll (“curl”). Related also to Saterland Frisian Kruus (“curl”), German kraus (“frizzy, crumpled, curly”), Danish krus (“curl”), Swedish krusa (“to crimp, curl”). Compare also Gothic 𐌺𐍂𐌹𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 (kriustan, “to grind, crush, gnash”).
To cause to move in a curve.
To make into a curl or spiral.
To assume the shape of a curl or spiral.
To move in curves.
To take part in the sport of curling.
I curl at my local club every weekend.
To exercise by bending the arm, wrist, or leg on the exertion against resistance, especially of the biceps.
To twist or form (the hair, etc.) into ringlets.
To deck with, or as if with, curls; to ornament.
To raise in waves or undulations; to ripple.
To shape (the brim of a hat) into a curve.
Where this word comes from
From metathesis of Middle English crulle (“curled, curly”), of uncertain origin but probably from an unrecorded Old English word or from Middle Dutch crul, crulle (“curl”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kruzlǭ (“bent or crooked object, curl”), connected to *krūsą (“curl”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Krulle (“curl, lock”), West Frisian krul (“curl”), Dutch krul (“curl”), German Low German Krull (“curl”), dialectal German Krolle (“curl”), Danish krølle (“curl”), Norwegian Bokmål krøll (“curl”). Related also to Saterland Frisian Kruus (“curl”), German kraus (“frizzy, crumpled, curly”), Danish krus (“curl”), Swedish krusa (“to crimp, curl”). Compare also Gothic 𐌺𐍂𐌹𐌿𐍃𐍄𐌰𐌽 (kriustan, “to grind, crush, gnash”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.