curl

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++

Related topics: Shapes, patterns

curl1 /kɜːl $ kɜːrl/ ●●○ verb [intransitive, transitive]  1  CFto form a twisted or curved shape, or to make something do this （使）弯曲；盘绕，缠绕 Mary was busy curling her hair. 玛丽在忙着卷头发。curl around/round Ivy curled round the tree. 常春藤缠绕在树上。2  [always + adverb/preposition]BEND to move, forming a twisted or curved shape, or to make something do this （使）呈曲线移动；（使）旋绕curl across/along etc Morning mists curled across the river. 河面上晨雾缭绕。curl something around/round/over etc something He curled his arm around Claudia’s waist. 他伸手揽住克劳迪娅的腰。3  DISAPPROVEif you curl your lip, or if your lip curls, you move it upwards and sideways, to show that you disapprove of someone or something 噘起〔嘴唇，表示反对〕 Her lip curled in contempt. 她轻蔑地撇撇嘴。4 curl up phrasal verb a) BENDto move so that you are lying or sitting with your arms and legs bent close to your body 蜷缩 I just wanted to curl up and go to sleep. 我只想蜷着身体睡觉。 Sarah was curled up on the sofa. 萨拉蜷缩在沙发上。b) BENDif something flat curls up, its edges start to become curved and point upwards 〔物体边缘〕卷起，翘起 The letter was now yellow and beginning to curl up. 信纸如今已泛黄，边开始卷起来了。 → make somebody’s toes curl at toe1(5), → make your hair curl at hair(9)→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

curl• Penelope's fingers curled and uncurled nervously in her lap.• Thick, dark hair curled around his face and his rolled-up sleeves revealed strong, well-muscled arms.• I threw the letter into the fire. It curled, darkened, and then burst into flames.• The document was yellow and its edges had curled inward.• I didn't have a chance to curl my hair this morning.• One of her feet curled over the top of the other one, and rubbed it affectionately.• Touch it again, and it will curl up again, and then stretch out once more.• Booze was soporific, the brain was programmed to zero, it curled up and slept.• I curled up in a fetal position after the Elimination Ritual and waited for sleep to come.• She curled up in a tight ball as though to stop herself from breaking apart.curl around/round• A narrow stairway of stone curled around a pillar near the door and disappeared through the beams of the roof.• Still further off the bay curls round and vanishes in mist.• She thought Robin must sleep in this bed with Penny, curled around her protectively as you would sleep with a kitten.• A musk smell lingered on Groves' sleeve, from where the female snake had curled around his arm.• Thick, dark hair curled around his face and his rolled-up sleeves revealed strong, well-muscled arms.• He studies the little dark face and massages a limp hand until the fingers curl around his own.• These leaves, too, were curled around the edges, and their undersides were covered with a downy tan fuzz.• Sure enough, when they went out to the yard, the same snake was curled around the same plant.curl across/along etc• Beyond it flowed the heavy mainstream, with small eddies curling along and through the wire on the surface.• The storm curled along the coast like a question mark; all over the city people braced themselves.

Related topics: Shapes, patterns

curl2 ●●○ noun  1  [countable]DC a piece of hair that hangs in a curved shape 鬈发 a little boy with beautiful blonde curls 满头漂亮的金色鬈发的小男孩2  [singular, uncountable] the ability of your hair to form curls 〔头发的〕卷曲 Use a diffuser to maximise the volume and curl of your hair. 使用电吹风罩把头发吹得蓬松卷曲。 hair that has a natural curl 自然卷曲的头发3  [countable]CF something in the shape of a curve 卷曲物，螺旋状物 Decorate the cake with chocolate curls. 用巧克力圈装饰蛋糕。curl of A curl of smoke rose from her cigarette. 她的香烟冒出一缕烟雾。4. [countable] an exercise in which you repeatedly bend your arms, legs, or stomach in order to make your muscles strong 〔锻炼肌肉的〕弯曲运动 →5 see picture at 见图 gym5. curl of somebody’s lip/mouth DISAPPROVEa sideways and upwards movement of your lip or mouth, showing that you disapprove of someone or something 撇嘴，噘嘴〔表示不赞同〕n COLLOCATIONSadjectivessoft/loose curls (=gentle curves)long brown hair in soft curlstight curls (=curves that are very close together)Her dark hair was arranged in tight curls.natural curlsYou're lucky if you have natural curls.a stray/wayward curl (=hanging in an untidy way)Emily pushed back a stray curl.golden/dark/black etc curlsa little boy with a tangle of blond curlsverbscurls fall/tumble (=hang down)The child's golden curls fell around her shoulders.phrasesa mass/mop of curls (=a lot of curls)a gorgeous Italian man with a mass of dark curlsa tangle of curls (=curls that are not neatly combed)a boy with a tangle of brown curls

Examples from the Corpus

curl• Sleep had flattened one side of her Afro and a curl had broken free above her forehead.• A curl of smoke rose from her cigarette.• Chocolate curls make an elegant decoration for cakes and desserts.• Afterwards she combed out long gray curls which turned into ringlets in the sun.• My hair is flat, it has lost its curl.• Apply Sorbie Curl Forme on to hair to revitalise curls and add body and shine.• These keep the curls tight and the cuticle sealed.• Do two sets each of bicep and tricep curls.• He had startlingly blue eyes and dark tumbling curls over his forehead; a narrow face; a skinny body.Origin curl1 (1300-1400) crul “curly” ((1300-1400)), probably from Middle Dutch

curl1 verbcurl2 noun →n COLLOCATIONS1LDOCE OnlineChinese  

a Corpus or something twisted to to or form curved make shape,

curl

I

curl¹ /kɜːl $ kɜːrl/ verb [intransitive and transitive]1. to form a twisted or curved shape, or to make something do this:
    Mary was busy curling her hair.
    curl around/round
    Ivy curled round the tree.
2. [always + adverb/preposition] to move, forming a twisted or curved shape, or to make something do this
    curl across/along etc
    Morning mists curled across the river.
    curl something around/round/over etc something
    He curled his arm around Claudia’s waist.
3. if you curl your lip, or if your lip curls, you move it upwards and sideways, to show that you disapprove of someone or something:
    Her lip curled in contempt.
⇨ make sb’s toes curl at toe¹(5), ⇨ make your hair curl at hair(9)
     
curl up phrasal verb
  1. to move so that you are lying or sitting with your arms and legs bent close to your body:
    I just wanted to curl up and go to sleep.
    Sarah was curled up on the sofa.
  2. if something flat curls up, its edges start to become curved and point upwards:
    The letter was now yellow and beginning to curl up.

II

curl² noun
1. [countable] a piece of hair that hangs in a curved shape:
    a little boy with beautiful blonde curls
2. [singular, uncountable] the ability of your hair to form curls:
    Use a diffuser to maximise the volume and curl of your hair.
    hair that has a natural curl
3. [countable] something in the shape of a curve:
    Decorate the cake with chocolate curls.
    curl of
    A curl of smoke rose from her cigarette.
4. [countable] an exercise in which you repeatedly bend your arms, legs, or stomach in order to make your muscles strong
5. curl of sb’s lip/mouth a sideways and upwards movement of your lip or mouth, showing that you disapprove of someone or something
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ adjectives
   ▪ soft/loose curls (=gentle curves) long brown hair in soft curls
   ▪ tight curls (=curves that are very close together) Her dark hair was arranged in tight curls.
   ▪ natural curls You're lucky if you have natural curls.
   ▪ a stray/wayward curl (=hanging in an untidy way) Emily pushed back a stray curl.
   ▪ golden/dark/black etc curls a little boy with a tangle of blond curls
■ verbs
   ▪ curls fall/tumble (=hang down) The child's golden curls fell around her shoulders.
■ phrases
   ▪ a mass/mop of curls (=a lot of curls) a gorgeous Italian man with a mass of dark curls
   ▪ a tangle of curls (=curls that are not neatly combed) a boy with a tangle of brown curls