curtain

[kur-tn]

noun

1. a hanging piece of fabric used to shut out the light from a window, adorn a room, increase privacy, etc.

   Synonyms: valance, lambrequin, portiere, drapery

2. a movable or folding screen used for similar purposes.

3. Chiefly New England.,  a window shade.

4. Theater.

   1. a set of hanging drapery for concealing all or part of the stage or set from the view of the audience.

   2. the act or time of raising or opening a curtain at the start of a performance.

      an 8:30 curtain.

   3. the end of a scene or act indicated by the closing or falling of a curtain.

      first-act curtain.

   4. an effect, line, or plot solution at the conclusion of a performance.

      a strong curtain; weak curtain.

   5. music signaling the end of a radio or television performance.

   6. (used as a direction in a script of a play to indicate that a scene or act is concluded.)

5. anything that shuts off, covers, or conceals.

   a curtain of artillery fire.

6. Architecture.,  a relatively flat or featureless extent of wall between two pavilions or the like.

7. Fortification.,  the part of a wall or rampart connecting two bastions, towers, or the like.

8. Slang.,  curtains, the end; death, especially by violence.

   It looked like curtains for another mobster.

verb (used with object)

1. to provide, shut off, conceal, or adorn with, or as if with, a curtain.

curtain

/ ˈkɜːtən /

noun

1. a piece of material that can be drawn across an opening or window, to shut out light or to provide privacy

2. a barrier to vision, access, or communication

   a curtain of secrecy

3. a hanging cloth or similar barrier for concealing all or part of a theatre stage from the audience

4. the end of a scene of a play, opera, etc, marked by the fall or closing of the curtain

5. the rise or opening of the curtain at the start of a performance

verb

1. to shut off or conceal with or as if with a curtain

2. (tr) to provide (a window, etc) with curtains

Other Word Forms

• curtainless adjective
• uncurtained adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of curtain¹

1250–1300; Middle English co ( u ) rtine < Anglo-French, Old French < Late Latin cortīna, probably equivalent to co ( ho ) rt- (stem of cohors; court ) + -īna -ine ¹, as calque of Greek aulaía curtain, derivative of aulḗ courtyard

Word History and Origins

Origin of curtain¹

C13: from Old French courtine, from Late Latin cortīna enclosed place, curtain, probably from Latin cohors courtyard

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. draw the curtain on / over,

   1. to bring to a close.

      to draw the curtain on a long career of public service.

   2. to keep secret.

2. lift the curtain on,

   1. to commence; start.

   2. to make known or public; disclose.

      to lift the curtain on a new scientific discovery.

More idioms and phrases containing curtain

• draw the curtain
• raise the curtain
• ring down the curtain

Synonym Study

Curtain, blind, shade, shutter agree in being covers for a window, to shut out light or keep persons from looking in. Curtain, blind, and shade may mean a cover, usually of cloth, which can be rolled up and down inside the window. Curtain, however, may also refer to a drapery at a window; and a Venetian blind consists of slats mounted on tapes for drawing up or down and varying the pitch of the slats. Blind and shutter may mean a cover made of two wooden frames with movable slats, attached by hinges outside a window and pulled together or opened at will. Shutters may mean also a set of panels (wooden or iron) put up outside small shops or stores at closing time

Example Sentences

Ripken had jogged into the dugout but emerged for eight curtain calls, waving to the crowd and tapping his heart.

From Los Angeles Times

Artists and audiences alike fear a future in which, behind the curtain, there might not be a man at all.

From Los Angeles Times

Even so, the final track, The End Of Suffering, finds a sort of equilibrium – as the singer throws open the curtains and lets the sun warm his skin.

From BBC

Translucent curtains are being designed for some of the windows, but won’t be used throughout, and not in the entrance across from “Octavia’s Gaze.”

From Los Angeles Times

You may already have hung thicker curtains and blocked the drafts over the last couple of winters, but do not forget to switch off radiators in rooms you are not using and wrap up.

From BBC

Related Words

• decoration 
• drape 
• drapery 
• screen 
• shade 
• shroud 
• shutter 
• veil 

When To Use

What does curtain mean?

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.