What does "curtain" mean?
A piece of cloth covering a window, bed, etc. to offer privacy and keep out light.
Curtain
/ˈkɜːtn̩/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A piece of cloth covering a window, bed, etc. to offer privacy and keep out light.
- Grammar: curtain is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: drape, drapery, abatis, act.
- Useful contrasts: bare opening, bare stage, clear sky.
- Usage evidence: I'll open the curtain for you to look out.
How to use "curtain"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "curtain" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "curtain" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "curtain" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "curtain" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "curtain" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "drape" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "curtain", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A piece of cloth covering a window, bed, etc. to offer privacy and keep out light.
"He drew the curtains at 11:00pm before falling asleep."
- 2 hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window) wordnet
- 3 A similar piece of cloth that separates the audience and the stage in a theater.
"“H'm !” he said, “so, so—it is a tragedy in a prologue and three acts. I am going down this afternoon to see the curtain fall for the third time on what[…]will prove a good burlesque ; but it all began dramatically enough. It was last Saturday[…]that two boys, playing in the little spinney just outside Wembley Park Station, came across three large parcels done up in American cloth.[…]”"
- 4 any barrier to communication or vision wordnet
- 5 The beginning of a show; the moment the curtain rises. broadly
"He took so long to shave his head that we arrived 45 minutes after curtain and were denied late entry."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 The flat area of wall which connects two bastions or towers; the main area of a fortified wall.
"Captain Rense, beleagring the Citie of Errona for us, […] caused a forcible mine to be wrought under a great curtine of the walles […]."
- 7 Death, final curtain. euphemistic, in-plural, sometimes
"For life is quite absurd / And death's the final word / You must always face the curtain with a bow."
- 8 That part of a wall of a building which is between two pavilions, towers, etc.
- 9 A flag; an ensign. derogatory, obsolete
"Their ragged curtains poorly are let loose"
- 10 The uninterrupted stream of fluid that falls onto a moving substrate in the process of curtain coating.
Verb
- 1 To cover (a window) with a curtain; to hang curtains. transitive
"In a large bedroom upstairs, the window of which was thickly curtained with a great woollen shawl lately discarded by the landlady, Mrs. Rolliver, were gathered on this evening nearly a dozen persons, all seeking vinous bliss; all old inhabitants of the nearer end of Marlott, and frequenters of this retreat."
- 2 provide with drapery wordnet
- 3 To hide, cover or separate as if by a curtain. figuratively, transitive
"And, after conflict such as was supposed / The wandering prince and Dido once enjoy'd, / When with a happy storm they were surprised / And curtain'd with a counsel-keeping cave, / We may, each wreathed in the other's arms, / Our pastimes done, possess a golden slumber;"
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
bare openingbare stageclear skydry spell
Example
"I'll open the curtain for you to look out."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "curtain"?
Common synonyms include: drape, drapery, abatis, act, act drop, advanced work.
How do you use "curtain" in a sentence?
I'll open the curtain for you to look out.
How do you pronounce "curtain"?
Pronounced /ˈkɜːtn̩/.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English curtine, from Old French cortine, from Late Latin cōrtīna (“curtain”), a calque from Ancient Greek.