adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1. 1
   Before the curtain rises at the start of a play. not-comparable

   "The cast gathered on the back porch for Ms. Barre’s precurtain notes: Think about your first line."

2. 2
   Before the curtain falls at the end of a play. not-comparable

Example

More examples

"The cast gathered on the back porch for Ms. Barre’s precurtain notes: Think about your first line."

Etymology

From pre- + curtain.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.