Definition of curl in English:

curl

verb kəːlkərl

1Form or cause to form into a curved or spiral shape.
no object her fingers curled round the microphone
a slice of ham had begun to curl up at the edges
with object she used to curl her hair with rags
Example sentencesExamples
- You've known him for less than a week, and he's already got you curled round his little finger!
- Laughing, she walks over to the table and lightly flicks her fingers through Ian's curling brown hair.
- Lightly pan-fry bologna slice (with rind) until it curls into a bowl shape.
- They are oddly shaped, curled in at five points on each dried leaf.
- Her straight hair was curled slightly, curving below her shoulders.
- Instead, her arms circled his neck, her fingers curling into his hair.
- He reached out and touched her face gently, a windblown strand of hair curling around his finger.
- Her hair was curled with little corkscrews coming down, and a loose bun full of curls, with a few extra sparkly hair clips in it.
- His tiny pink fingers and toes were curled tightly, and his eyes were shut, but, to his mother, he was perfect.
- She was deep in conversation with the girl sitting by her, bent forward, her hair curling round her face, her eyes wide.
- He wrapped his fingers in her long curling hair and rested his forehead against hers.
- Before long she'd nod off, book splayed out the armrest, fingers still curled around the mug.
- Allow the pieces to cool before moving them to prevent curling and crimping.
- He bent downward, and curled his fingers into one large fist.
- He untied something from his neck and placed it in her hand, and curled her fingers round it.
- When he didn't move she curled her hand around the solid shoulder and shook him gently.
- He looks sun-tanned and well, clearly enjoying his cup of tea as he daintily curls his fingers round the handle.
- His hand moved to curl fondly around my waist as we walked down the hall.
- She had her jacket slung over her shoulder, her finger curled through the loop in a way that was enticing despite being mundane.
- Her fingers curled tightly into his hair, almost pulling it in her frustration.
Synonyms
wind, twine, entwine, wrap
crimp, wave, tong
perm
go curly, go frizzy, frizz out, frizzle, crinkle
1. 1.1curl upno object Sit or lie with the knees drawn up.
  she curled up and went to sleep
  Example sentencesExamples
  Madeleine curled up into a ball on the floor, drawing her knees tightly to her chest and hugging them.
  And when she is done, she curls up on the couch and smiles to herself.
  As the dog curls up beside me and another shower of sparks soars into the night I reflect that this is a minor complaint.
  As she curls up in her chair like a Siamese, I feel my hips press up against the arm rests and wonder where she's finding all that extra space to pretzel her body into feline folds.
  He curled up on the seat beside me, fixing me with his daunting blue-gold eyes.
  A friendly dog runs up to us and curls up in my husband's lap.
  He would curl up into the foetal position and weep at the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name.
  If you have a right angled desk with screens behind it, then curl up underneath it during your break.
  I close my eyes again, drawing my knees up to my chest and curling up in a defensive ball.
  He curls up in his seat, knees up to his shoulders, his arms hugging himself tight.
  Me, I would curl up in a fetal position under the table and wait for someone to rescue me.
  I curled up in a corner and buried my head in my knees and started sobbing as subtly as I could.
  At that moment the princess flipped herself over to curl up into a tighter position.
  In the meantime young people continue to be shut in rooms to slowly curl up and die.
  She sat down on her comfy couch, curling up in a ball.
  But I just feel like nailing my door shut and curling up in a ball in the corner of my room.
  He could not make up his mind if he wanted to snuggle or just curl up at the foot of the bed.
  I threw him a dirty look and turned back around, curling up in the seat again.
  She moved slowly out of her curled up position and painfully stretched out her limbs.
  After rustling up her favourite linguine with garlic oil and pancetta, Nigella changes into her dressing gown and curls up in bed, alone except for the pasta, to eat and watch telly in silence.
  Synonyms
  nestle, snuggle, cuddle
  huddle
  North American snug down
2. 1.2 Move or cause to move in a spiral or curved course.
  no object, with adverbial of direction a wisp of smoke curling across the sky
  Example sentencesExamples
  Her smoke curled toward the light over the table where a moth was bumping against the bulb.
  He takes a shot from the dead ball line, but it curls behind the goal.
  He eyed the smoke curling out of the oven and was in a state of semi-panic and confusion.
  Two men sit in a small, claustrophobic room, cigarette smoke curling through the soft light.
  The smoke from his pipe curled into the air in lazy circles.
  Doc turned us on a straight line for the wagon train and they curled off their course to meet us.
  I glanced up at the sky, and indeed, smoke was curling lazily from one of three chimneys.
  She began to fiddle with it nervously, turning it over and over in her hands, the cigarette bobbing up and down with smoke curling across her hands.
  But with two minutes remaining it was he who managed to grab the winner when he curled in a shot from 20 yards.
  Smoke rose in curling tendrils up to the ceiling that was starting to stain with the toxic fumes.
  The assistant referee signalled that the cross had curled out of play before hitting the woodwork.
  He just tried another curler, but it was too curly and it curled away from goal.
  Your wings can also curl around the post players or even go baseline and exchange places with each other.
  He took precise aim with a lob from the corner of the box but it refused to curl in and drifted harmlessly across goal.
  Sweet-smelling fingers of smoke twisted and curled into the air, filling the sanctuary with a primordial mist.
  Orthodox priests held a memorial service, and the blue smoke of incense smoke curled in the hot summer air.
  Smoke curled inside itself, pushing out through slitted windows.
  It curls towards goal and he plucks it confidently from the air.
  I felt my stomach backflip as the smoke curled around me.
  I just curled around him and pulled up at the free throw line.
  Synonyms
  spiral, coil, wreathe, twirl, swirl, furl
  wind, curve, bend, twist, twist and turn, loop, meander, snake, corkscrew, zigzag
3. 1.3 (with reference to one's mouth or upper lip) raise or cause to raise slightly on one side as an expression of contempt or disapproval.
  no object Maria saw his lip curl sardonically
  Example sentencesExamples
  Her upper lip curled slightly in a faint scowl as she gathered the parchment up in her hand and broke the serpent seal with her fingernail.
  Unfortunately, after uttering that word, most roll their eyes or curl their upper lip in mild disgust and just plain lose interest in the conversation.
  The old man was staring at him, upper lip curled back from his teeth.
  He scowled, his upper lip curling so slightly that his lips did not part.
  Slowly, the side of her mouth curled into a smile, and the silence was broken by a quiet snicker.
  I rolled my eyes and curled my upper lip in feigned revulsion.
  A look of disgust that had never been known to grace Michael's face settled heavily over his features, his upper lip curling as he surveyed her.
  He kept his voice neutral, but the left side of his upper lip curled slightly in disapproval.
  His mouth curled slightly as he looked her over, and Lily sighed and looked away.
  My lip curled in contempt as I noticed the thing clinging to his arm.
  His eyes darkened, and the right side of his lips curled slightly.
  One side of his mouth curled upward as I assumed that he recognized me.
  It stood in front of me and it curled its upper lip, exposing one canine and incisor.
  The husband's lips were curled slightly, forming a meager smile; the wife was wearing no smile at all.
  Doug's lips curl in contempt towards his brother-in-law.
  The sides of his lips curled upwards ever so slightly that if you had even blinked for a millisecond you would have missed it.
  I had my nose curled slightly and my mouth opened in surprise as I looked from one to the other.
  When it curled its upper lip in a snarl, long fangs peeked out between its other straight teeth.
  When Sean was safely out of earshot, he allowed his upper lip to curl into the slightest sneer.
  I turned to her, slightly entertained at the annoyance curling her upper lip.
2with object (in weight training) lift (a weight) using only the hands, wrists, and forearms.
slowly curl the barbell to shoulder height
Example sentencesExamples
- Then curl the barbell up and let it slowly drop back down until your hands are hanging.
- Tighten your midsection, take a deep breath, curl both weights toward your shoulders and exhale at the top.
- Hold that breath as you curl both weights toward your shoulders, exhaling slowly as you finish the concentric part of the rep.
- For example, if you did the barbell curl and it took you two seconds to curl the weight up and another two seconds to lower it, that's four seconds of tension per rep.
- And yet, how many times have you seen a guy curling a barbell that's so heavy, he's throwing it up with his back and taking the work away from his arms?
- Slowly curl the weights up to your shoulders, tightening the bicep muscle as you go.
- With shoulders back and elbows at your sides, curl the weights as you turn your palms up.
- He flexes his elbows in earnest to begin curling the weight at a moderate pace, under control.
- Keeping your upper arm pressed against your thigh, curl the weight up and toward your shoulder.
- Just before you completely lower the weight, begin curling with the other arm.
- Regardless of which isolation exercise I select, the plan is to curl the weight slowly and to go for a full muscular contraction.
- For instance, rather than keeping your torso rigid during barbell curls, you can sway backward and then forward as you curl the weight upward.
- Make sure your biceps contraction alone curls the weight all the way to the top.
- You're curling twice as much weight, so you have to work harder, whereas alternate curls allow more rest for each arm between reps.
- The boss still worked his muscles, lifting and curling with special weights that he bought when they still made such things.
- With the bar down in front of my thighs, I curl the weight up while keeping my upper arms in place.
- Grasp the handles of the machine and inhale as you flex the knees and slowly curl the weights until the pads touch the buttocks.
- With the supinating curl, you start with your hands in the hammer position and turn your palms up as you curl the weight.
- With elbows fixed in position, she contracts her biceps to curl the weights toward her shoulders.
- My intent is to rely on biceps contractions alone to curl the heaviest weight possible, reaching failure at six reps or, at the most, eight.
3no object Play at the game of curling.
during the severe spell in 1740, men curled on the pond
Example sentencesExamples
- He started curling while attending college in Minnesota, but has given up on the sport since.
- She began curling in high school and finished second at the Wisconsin state high school championships.

noun kəːlkərl

1Something in the shape of a spiral or coil, especially a lock of hair.
her blonde hair was a mass of tangled curls
a curl of blue smoke
Example sentencesExamples
- Her eyes followed the winding twists and the curls of smoke as the sky broke open to the ocean beneath.
- She then called for her maid to do her hair, which ended up in elaborate curls, twisted and pinned around a pearl and sapphire tiara.
- Her auburn hair fell down about her shoulders, the ends styled in spiral curls.
- Pins, clips, combs, and feathers captured their graying hair into elaborate curls and twists.
- The curl of smoke twisted through the tall grass as the hunter stared over the hill tops.
- She had desperately tried to tame her hair by running a comb through her tangle of curls, but with no avail.
- Her hair was damp too, making her usually straight hair coil up in small curls.
- He was smaller than the man at the door, his hair tied back in a tangle of dark curls.
- Beautiful blonde locks and bouncy curls framed the delicately shaped face.
- After a year of curls, hair is heading for a pared-down look.
- She has a mass of black curls, a long, still stare, a restless intellect.
- The easiest way to shape thin chocolate curls is to shave them directly from a block of chocolate, using a swivel vegetable peeler or sharp knife.
- You won't see his receivers running a lot of curls, running to the sideline or catching the ball from a dead stop.
- The vegetables will open up or set in wonderful stars, curls or palm-tree shapes.
- Its face, beneath a shaggy fall of raven black curls, was delicately shaped and as stark as bone, with no hint of rosy cheek or kind intention.
- My hair was in spiral curls that hung loosely around my face, forming a dark shadow around my glowing face.
- Shower and shampoo has left my hair in an uncontrollable mass of curls and tangles.
- The holsters have a lip curl so the cylinder will not hang up when re-holstering.
- Fear, greed and sexual obsession tangle in a plot that has more twists than a curl of smoke traveling through a double helix.
- Her hair was in a French twist with a few curls framing her face.
Synonyms
ringlet, corkscrew, coil, kink, wave
kiss-curl
spiral, coil, wreath, twirl, swirl, furl, twist, corkscrew, curlicue, whorl, helix, gyre
1. 1.1 A curling movement.
  the sneering curl of his lip
  Example sentencesExamples
  Worse than that: they evoke a contemptuous curl of the lip.
  In a minute, I am onto the coast road and following its curl as it descends toward probably the most famous beach in the world.
  I could tell he had adopted an unusual air by the strange curl on his beautiful lips.
  That bent and stooped body became, for a time, capable of conveying the subtlest of messages in an arch of an eyebrow, the curl of a lip.
  She looks at him with a delighted curl to her red lips.
  He inhabits the champ from the first curl of his lip and half-lidded gaze.
  Nothing wrong with that, but a slight tweak in hand position transforms an ordinary curl into a hammer curl.
  He fought to control the instinctive curl of his lip.
  I read over my recent entries with a curl to my lip; I'm not at my sparkling best in winter.
  His eyes speak volumes and a sneering curl of his lip or raising of the brow conveys as much as a page of dialogue or explanation.
  She easily captures this grasping floozy, with just a curl of her bee-stung lips and her eyes alternately vacant and cunning.
  Unfortunately, while we might be prepared to complain about deficiencies in our own immediate locality, when we see a mess further afield we tend to pass it by with a curl of the lip.
  However, there was an angry curl to his lips as he awaited the Old Man's explanation.
  With a squint of eye, a curl of lip, a twist of neck, and a body slanguage equally at home in boardrooms and barrooms, she embodies everyone she sees.
  He, apparently ruthless in his ambition, gave up on mainstream politics with barely a curl of those famous lips.
  Aimee could spot the vindictive curl on his lips, the hand holding the cup of fruit juice rising and before she knew it, the contents of the cups were emptied all over her.
  With a roll of my eyes and a curl of my lip, I took out my notebook and started sketching.
  She averted her eyes, shifting her gaze to her feet in an attempt to avoid the mischievous curl of his lips.
  She tried to ignore her, but she caught the quick curl of lips and grinned.
2. 1.2 (with reference to a person's hair) a state or condition of being curled.
  your hair has a natural curl
  mass noun large perm rods give volume and control rather than lots of curl
  Example sentencesExamples
  It is then treated with an oxidizing solution that reforms protein bonds and causes the hair to maintain a curl.
  My blonde tresses had caused me trouble ever since I had my haircut up to my shoulders, from a previous length of my waist, and the natural curl came out.
  Use a curling iron to add a very soft curl at the bottom of the lock of hair.
  Gabriel had black hair cut short at the sides and back, while the top and front was long enough to show the curl in his thick hair.
  A quick climb up the family tree and it's easy to pick out the source of our eye color, the curl in our hair, even our personality quirks.
  Something about the dress brought out the twinkle in her eyes and the curl of her dark hair.
  There wasn't an ounce of curl in any hair on her head, and she was sure that he would be most disappointed in her appearance.
  Because hair is porous, it absorbs moisture, which activates curl.
  She released the lock of dark brown hair, letting it fall into a graceful spiral curl.
  The damp is taking all the curl out of my naturally curly hair!
  Finally, for you curly heads, don't towel dry your hair because it'll break up your natural curl, creating lackluster, frizzy hair.
  Personally I hate my hair; it tends to have a natural curl to it, so I cut it to prevent it from getting out of control.
  He had short apricot-colored hair with a small hint of curl, his eyes shown a bright green, and his face was gently colored with a soft patch of freckles.
  I bit my lip lightly as I finished putting the final curl in the left ponytail on my head.
  It ‘gave a rotundity to my person, a wave and curl to my hair, and perhaps led me to fancy pictorial illustration and flaming colours’.
3. 1.3
  see leaf curl
2A weightlifting exercise involving movement of only the hands, wrists, and forearms.
a dumb-bell curl
Example sentencesExamples
- You might also decide to try an alternate exercise like stiff-legged deadlifts or seated curls.
- To illustrate my point, try doing reverse curls with the same weight with which you can perform a standard barbell curl.
- Basically, the setup and execution are the same as for reverse wrist curls, except for the grip, which is underhand.
- Switch your type of leg curl (lying, seated or standing) and rep pattern frequently.
- Therefore, you might want to perform an isolation exercise such as preacher curls instead and take the delts out of play.
- Heavy compound lifts, such as squats and deadlifts, typically require a longer rest period than pushdowns or wrist curls.
- Ego wins the day, and another pair of biceps is left to wilt for the glory of a heavy barbell curl.
- The exercise that best meets those criteria is standing alternate dumbbell curls.
- So, naturally, this meant we'd better do one more exercise - concentration curls.
- The lying cable biceps curl helps bodybuilders more thoroughly develop their biceps and brachialis muscles.
- The workout consists of three basic exercises: wrist curls, reverse wrist curls and forearm rotations.
- Barbell and dumbbell wrist curls work well, as do behind-the-back wrist curls.
- It seems the freakier the forearms, the fewer wrist curls an elite bodybuilder has performed.
- I never cheat while doing my arm exercises, but I decided to listen to Arnold and try his barbell cheat curl.
- Because the Smith machine limits you to a fixed path, the range of motion here will be shorter than on a free-weight barbell curl.
- This is another type of curl that effectively isolates the biceps.
- This lift uniquely stresses forearm flexors that other wrist curls underemphasize.
- Follow this set with hamstring and/or glute exercises such as stiff-leg deadlifts and leg curls.
- For example, when doing barbell curls I'll lower the bar slowly, really controlling the weight.
- For the biceps, start out with a major massbuilding exercise like barbell curls.
3Mathematics
A function giving a measure of the rotation of a vector field.

Phrases

make someone's hair curl

informal Shock or horrify someone.
she drives at a speed to make your hair curl
Example sentencesExamples
- There are things going in in this world that make your hair curl.
- Some of the bad guys there did things that would probably make even your hair curl - and I don't even want to give you any ideas.
- Whatever your politics, it will make your hair curl.
- The last information he had received was from survivors, and it was horrifying, that it would make a man 's hair curl.
- The string of expletives that then emitted from the phone would make you hair curl.
Synonyms
shock, stun, horrify, appal, scandalize, make someone's blood run cold

Origin

Late Middle English: from obsolete crulle 'curly', from Middle Dutch krul.

Rhymes

birl, burl, churl, earl, Erle, furl, girl, herl, hurl, knurl, merle, pas seul, pearl, purl, Searle, skirl, squirl, swirl, twirl, whirl, whorl

Definition of curl in US English:

curl

verbkərlkərl

1Form or cause to form into a curved or spiral shape.
no object her fingers curled around the microphone
a slice of ham had begun to curl up at the edges
with object she used to curl her hair with rags
Example sentencesExamples
- Her straight hair was curled slightly, curving below her shoulders.
- Instead, her arms circled his neck, her fingers curling into his hair.
- Before long she'd nod off, book splayed out the armrest, fingers still curled around the mug.
- He untied something from his neck and placed it in her hand, and curled her fingers round it.
- They are oddly shaped, curled in at five points on each dried leaf.
- He reached out and touched her face gently, a windblown strand of hair curling around his finger.
- You've known him for less than a week, and he's already got you curled round his little finger!
- Her hair was curled with little corkscrews coming down, and a loose bun full of curls, with a few extra sparkly hair clips in it.
- He wrapped his fingers in her long curling hair and rested his forehead against hers.
- She had her jacket slung over her shoulder, her finger curled through the loop in a way that was enticing despite being mundane.
- Lightly pan-fry bologna slice (with rind) until it curls into a bowl shape.
- He bent downward, and curled his fingers into one large fist.
- When he didn't move she curled her hand around the solid shoulder and shook him gently.
- Laughing, she walks over to the table and lightly flicks her fingers through Ian's curling brown hair.
- His tiny pink fingers and toes were curled tightly, and his eyes were shut, but, to his mother, he was perfect.
- Her fingers curled tightly into his hair, almost pulling it in her frustration.
- Allow the pieces to cool before moving them to prevent curling and crimping.
- His hand moved to curl fondly around my waist as we walked down the hall.
- She was deep in conversation with the girl sitting by her, bent forward, her hair curling round her face, her eyes wide.
- He looks sun-tanned and well, clearly enjoying his cup of tea as he daintily curls his fingers round the handle.
Synonyms
wind, twine, entwine, wrap
crimp, wave, tong
go curly, go frizzy, frizz out, frizzle, crinkle
1. 1.1curl upno object Sit or lie with the knees drawn up.
  she curled up and went to sleep
  Example sentencesExamples
  He would curl up into the foetal position and weep at the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name.
  He curls up in his seat, knees up to his shoulders, his arms hugging himself tight.
  At that moment the princess flipped herself over to curl up into a tighter position.
  She moved slowly out of her curled up position and painfully stretched out her limbs.
  As she curls up in her chair like a Siamese, I feel my hips press up against the arm rests and wonder where she's finding all that extra space to pretzel her body into feline folds.
  As the dog curls up beside me and another shower of sparks soars into the night I reflect that this is a minor complaint.
  But I just feel like nailing my door shut and curling up in a ball in the corner of my room.
  He could not make up his mind if he wanted to snuggle or just curl up at the foot of the bed.
  Me, I would curl up in a fetal position under the table and wait for someone to rescue me.
  I close my eyes again, drawing my knees up to my chest and curling up in a defensive ball.
  Madeleine curled up into a ball on the floor, drawing her knees tightly to her chest and hugging them.
  And when she is done, she curls up on the couch and smiles to herself.
  She sat down on her comfy couch, curling up in a ball.
  In the meantime young people continue to be shut in rooms to slowly curl up and die.
  I threw him a dirty look and turned back around, curling up in the seat again.
  He curled up on the seat beside me, fixing me with his daunting blue-gold eyes.
  If you have a right angled desk with screens behind it, then curl up underneath it during your break.
  After rustling up her favourite linguine with garlic oil and pancetta, Nigella changes into her dressing gown and curls up in bed, alone except for the pasta, to eat and watch telly in silence.
  A friendly dog runs up to us and curls up in my husband's lap.
  I curled up in a corner and buried my head in my knees and started sobbing as subtly as I could.
  Synonyms
  nestle, snuggle, cuddle
2. 1.2 Move or cause to move in a spiral or curved course.
  no object, with adverbial of direction a wisp of smoke curling across the sky
  Example sentencesExamples
  He eyed the smoke curling out of the oven and was in a state of semi-panic and confusion.
  I just curled around him and pulled up at the free throw line.
  Her smoke curled toward the light over the table where a moth was bumping against the bulb.
  The smoke from his pipe curled into the air in lazy circles.
  It curls towards goal and he plucks it confidently from the air.
  She began to fiddle with it nervously, turning it over and over in her hands, the cigarette bobbing up and down with smoke curling across her hands.
  Two men sit in a small, claustrophobic room, cigarette smoke curling through the soft light.
  I glanced up at the sky, and indeed, smoke was curling lazily from one of three chimneys.
  Your wings can also curl around the post players or even go baseline and exchange places with each other.
  Orthodox priests held a memorial service, and the blue smoke of incense smoke curled in the hot summer air.
  Smoke rose in curling tendrils up to the ceiling that was starting to stain with the toxic fumes.
  I felt my stomach backflip as the smoke curled around me.
  Doc turned us on a straight line for the wagon train and they curled off their course to meet us.
  Sweet-smelling fingers of smoke twisted and curled into the air, filling the sanctuary with a primordial mist.
  Smoke curled inside itself, pushing out through slitted windows.
  The assistant referee signalled that the cross had curled out of play before hitting the woodwork.
  He took precise aim with a lob from the corner of the box but it refused to curl in and drifted harmlessly across goal.
  He just tried another curler, but it was too curly and it curled away from goal.
  But with two minutes remaining it was he who managed to grab the winner when he curled in a shot from 20 yards.
  He takes a shot from the dead ball line, but it curls behind the goal.
  Synonyms
  spiral, coil, wreathe, twirl, swirl, furl
3. 1.3 (with reference to one's mouth or upper lip) raise or cause to raise slightly on one side as an expression of contempt or disapproval.
  no object Maria saw his lip curl sardonically
  Example sentencesExamples
  I rolled my eyes and curled my upper lip in feigned revulsion.
  It stood in front of me and it curled its upper lip, exposing one canine and incisor.
  He kept his voice neutral, but the left side of his upper lip curled slightly in disapproval.
  His eyes darkened, and the right side of his lips curled slightly.
  Slowly, the side of her mouth curled into a smile, and the silence was broken by a quiet snicker.
  When it curled its upper lip in a snarl, long fangs peeked out between its other straight teeth.
  I turned to her, slightly entertained at the annoyance curling her upper lip.
  Doug's lips curl in contempt towards his brother-in-law.
  The sides of his lips curled upwards ever so slightly that if you had even blinked for a millisecond you would have missed it.
  Her upper lip curled slightly in a faint scowl as she gathered the parchment up in her hand and broke the serpent seal with her fingernail.
  The husband's lips were curled slightly, forming a meager smile; the wife was wearing no smile at all.
  I had my nose curled slightly and my mouth opened in surprise as I looked from one to the other.
  My lip curled in contempt as I noticed the thing clinging to his arm.
  A look of disgust that had never been known to grace Michael's face settled heavily over his features, his upper lip curling as he surveyed her.
  The old man was staring at him, upper lip curled back from his teeth.
  One side of his mouth curled upward as I assumed that he recognized me.
  He scowled, his upper lip curling so slightly that his lips did not part.
  Unfortunately, after uttering that word, most roll their eyes or curl their upper lip in mild disgust and just plain lose interest in the conversation.
  When Sean was safely out of earshot, he allowed his upper lip to curl into the slightest sneer.
  His mouth curled slightly as he looked her over, and Lily sighed and looked away.
2with object (in weight training) lift (a weight) using only the hands, wrists, and forearms.
Example sentencesExamples
- He flexes his elbows in earnest to begin curling the weight at a moderate pace, under control.
- For example, if you did the barbell curl and it took you two seconds to curl the weight up and another two seconds to lower it, that's four seconds of tension per rep.
- Regardless of which isolation exercise I select, the plan is to curl the weight slowly and to go for a full muscular contraction.
- Grasp the handles of the machine and inhale as you flex the knees and slowly curl the weights until the pads touch the buttocks.
- Make sure your biceps contraction alone curls the weight all the way to the top.
- With shoulders back and elbows at your sides, curl the weights as you turn your palms up.
- Then curl the barbell up and let it slowly drop back down until your hands are hanging.
- For instance, rather than keeping your torso rigid during barbell curls, you can sway backward and then forward as you curl the weight upward.
- With the supinating curl, you start with your hands in the hammer position and turn your palms up as you curl the weight.
- You're curling twice as much weight, so you have to work harder, whereas alternate curls allow more rest for each arm between reps.
- Hold that breath as you curl both weights toward your shoulders, exhaling slowly as you finish the concentric part of the rep.
- Just before you completely lower the weight, begin curling with the other arm.
- With the bar down in front of my thighs, I curl the weight up while keeping my upper arms in place.
- With elbows fixed in position, she contracts her biceps to curl the weights toward her shoulders.
- My intent is to rely on biceps contractions alone to curl the heaviest weight possible, reaching failure at six reps or, at the most, eight.
- Tighten your midsection, take a deep breath, curl both weights toward your shoulders and exhale at the top.
- Slowly curl the weights up to your shoulders, tightening the bicep muscle as you go.
- And yet, how many times have you seen a guy curling a barbell that's so heavy, he's throwing it up with his back and taking the work away from his arms?
- The boss still worked his muscles, lifting and curling with special weights that he bought when they still made such things.
- Keeping your upper arm pressed against your thigh, curl the weight up and toward your shoulder.
3no object Play at the game of curling.
Example sentencesExamples
- She began curling in high school and finished second at the Wisconsin state high school championships.
- He started curling while attending college in Minnesota, but has given up on the sport since.

nounkərlkərl

1Something having a spiral or inwardly curved form, especially a lock of hair.
her blond hair was a mass of tangled curls
a curl of blue smoke
Example sentencesExamples
- The holsters have a lip curl so the cylinder will not hang up when re-holstering.
- She then called for her maid to do her hair, which ended up in elaborate curls, twisted and pinned around a pearl and sapphire tiara.
- She had desperately tried to tame her hair by running a comb through her tangle of curls, but with no avail.
- Pins, clips, combs, and feathers captured their graying hair into elaborate curls and twists.
- Shower and shampoo has left my hair in an uncontrollable mass of curls and tangles.
- He was smaller than the man at the door, his hair tied back in a tangle of dark curls.
- After a year of curls, hair is heading for a pared-down look.
- The easiest way to shape thin chocolate curls is to shave them directly from a block of chocolate, using a swivel vegetable peeler or sharp knife.
- She has a mass of black curls, a long, still stare, a restless intellect.
- Her hair was in a French twist with a few curls framing her face.
- Beautiful blonde locks and bouncy curls framed the delicately shaped face.
- The vegetables will open up or set in wonderful stars, curls or palm-tree shapes.
- Her auburn hair fell down about her shoulders, the ends styled in spiral curls.
- Her hair was damp too, making her usually straight hair coil up in small curls.
- Her eyes followed the winding twists and the curls of smoke as the sky broke open to the ocean beneath.
- The curl of smoke twisted through the tall grass as the hunter stared over the hill tops.
- My hair was in spiral curls that hung loosely around my face, forming a dark shadow around my glowing face.
- You won't see his receivers running a lot of curls, running to the sideline or catching the ball from a dead stop.
- Its face, beneath a shaggy fall of raven black curls, was delicately shaped and as stark as bone, with no hint of rosy cheek or kind intention.
- Fear, greed and sexual obsession tangle in a plot that has more twists than a curl of smoke traveling through a double helix.
Synonyms
ringlet, corkscrew, coil, kink, wave
spiral, coil, wreath, twirl, swirl, furl, twist, corkscrew, curlicue, whorl, helix, gyre
1. 1.1 A curling movement.
  the sneering curl of his lip
  Example sentencesExamples
  He inhabits the champ from the first curl of his lip and half-lidded gaze.
  She easily captures this grasping floozy, with just a curl of her bee-stung lips and her eyes alternately vacant and cunning.
  She looks at him with a delighted curl to her red lips.
  He fought to control the instinctive curl of his lip.
  With a squint of eye, a curl of lip, a twist of neck, and a body slanguage equally at home in boardrooms and barrooms, she embodies everyone she sees.
  She tried to ignore her, but she caught the quick curl of lips and grinned.
  I could tell he had adopted an unusual air by the strange curl on his beautiful lips.
  She averted her eyes, shifting her gaze to her feet in an attempt to avoid the mischievous curl of his lips.
  Aimee could spot the vindictive curl on his lips, the hand holding the cup of fruit juice rising and before she knew it, the contents of the cups were emptied all over her.
  I read over my recent entries with a curl to my lip; I'm not at my sparkling best in winter.
  He, apparently ruthless in his ambition, gave up on mainstream politics with barely a curl of those famous lips.
  Worse than that: they evoke a contemptuous curl of the lip.
  With a roll of my eyes and a curl of my lip, I took out my notebook and started sketching.
  Unfortunately, while we might be prepared to complain about deficiencies in our own immediate locality, when we see a mess further afield we tend to pass it by with a curl of the lip.
  In a minute, I am onto the coast road and following its curl as it descends toward probably the most famous beach in the world.
  Nothing wrong with that, but a slight tweak in hand position transforms an ordinary curl into a hammer curl.
  However, there was an angry curl to his lips as he awaited the Old Man's explanation.
  His eyes speak volumes and a sneering curl of his lip or raising of the brow conveys as much as a page of dialogue or explanation.
  That bent and stooped body became, for a time, capable of conveying the subtlest of messages in an arch of an eyebrow, the curl of a lip.
2. 1.2 (with reference to a person's hair) a state or condition of being curled.
  your hair has a natural curl
  large perm rods give volume and control rather than lots of curl
  Example sentencesExamples
  It is then treated with an oxidizing solution that reforms protein bonds and causes the hair to maintain a curl.
  Personally I hate my hair; it tends to have a natural curl to it, so I cut it to prevent it from getting out of control.
  The damp is taking all the curl out of my naturally curly hair!
  There wasn't an ounce of curl in any hair on her head, and she was sure that he would be most disappointed in her appearance.
  A quick climb up the family tree and it's easy to pick out the source of our eye color, the curl in our hair, even our personality quirks.
  Something about the dress brought out the twinkle in her eyes and the curl of her dark hair.
  Because hair is porous, it absorbs moisture, which activates curl.
  He had short apricot-colored hair with a small hint of curl, his eyes shown a bright green, and his face was gently colored with a soft patch of freckles.
  Finally, for you curly heads, don't towel dry your hair because it'll break up your natural curl, creating lackluster, frizzy hair.
  Gabriel had black hair cut short at the sides and back, while the top and front was long enough to show the curl in his thick hair.
  I bit my lip lightly as I finished putting the final curl in the left ponytail on my head.
  My blonde tresses had caused me trouble ever since I had my haircut up to my shoulders, from a previous length of my waist, and the natural curl came out.
  She released the lock of dark brown hair, letting it fall into a graceful spiral curl.
  Use a curling iron to add a very soft curl at the bottom of the lock of hair.
  It ‘gave a rotundity to my person, a wave and curl to my hair, and perhaps led me to fancy pictorial illustration and flaming colours’.
3. 1.3
  see leaf curl
2A weightlifting exercise involving movement of only the hands, wrists, and forearms.
a dumbbell curl
Example sentencesExamples
- Therefore, you might want to perform an isolation exercise such as preacher curls instead and take the delts out of play.
- The exercise that best meets those criteria is standing alternate dumbbell curls.
- For the biceps, start out with a major massbuilding exercise like barbell curls.
- So, naturally, this meant we'd better do one more exercise - concentration curls.
- Heavy compound lifts, such as squats and deadlifts, typically require a longer rest period than pushdowns or wrist curls.
- Basically, the setup and execution are the same as for reverse wrist curls, except for the grip, which is underhand.
- For example, when doing barbell curls I'll lower the bar slowly, really controlling the weight.
- I never cheat while doing my arm exercises, but I decided to listen to Arnold and try his barbell cheat curl.
- You might also decide to try an alternate exercise like stiff-legged deadlifts or seated curls.
- Ego wins the day, and another pair of biceps is left to wilt for the glory of a heavy barbell curl.
- This is another type of curl that effectively isolates the biceps.
- To illustrate my point, try doing reverse curls with the same weight with which you can perform a standard barbell curl.
- Barbell and dumbbell wrist curls work well, as do behind-the-back wrist curls.
- Because the Smith machine limits you to a fixed path, the range of motion here will be shorter than on a free-weight barbell curl.
- The workout consists of three basic exercises: wrist curls, reverse wrist curls and forearm rotations.
- This lift uniquely stresses forearm flexors that other wrist curls underemphasize.
- It seems the freakier the forearms, the fewer wrist curls an elite bodybuilder has performed.
- The lying cable biceps curl helps bodybuilders more thoroughly develop their biceps and brachialis muscles.
- Follow this set with hamstring and/or glute exercises such as stiff-leg deadlifts and leg curls.
- Switch your type of leg curl (lying, seated or standing) and rep pattern frequently.
3Mathematics
The vector product of the operator del and a given vector.

Phrases

make someone's hair curl

informal Shock or horrify someone.
Example sentencesExamples
- There are things going in in this world that make your hair curl.
- Whatever your politics, it will make your hair curl.
- Some of the bad guys there did things that would probably make even your hair curl - and I don't even want to give you any ideas.
- The string of expletives that then emitted from the phone would make you hair curl.
- The last information he had received was from survivors, and it was horrifying, that it would make a man 's hair curl.
Synonyms
shock, stun, horrify, appal, scandalize, make someone's blood run cold

Origin

Late Middle English: from obsolete crulle ‘curly’, from Middle Dutch krul.

单词	curl
释义	Definition of curl in English: curl verb kəːlkərl 1Form or cause to form into a curved or spiral shape. no object her fingers curled round the microphone a slice of ham had begun to curl up at the edges with object she used to curl her hair with rags Example sentencesExamples You've known him for less than a week, and he's already got you curled round his little finger! Laughing, she walks over to the table and lightly flicks her fingers through Ian's curling brown hair. Lightly pan-fry bologna slice (with rind) until it curls into a bowl shape. They are oddly shaped, curled in at five points on each dried leaf. Her straight hair was curled slightly, curving below her shoulders. Instead, her arms circled his neck, her fingers curling into his hair. He reached out and touched her face gently, a windblown strand of hair curling around his finger. Her hair was curled with little corkscrews coming down, and a loose bun full of curls, with a few extra sparkly hair clips in it. His tiny pink fingers and toes were curled tightly, and his eyes were shut, but, to his mother, he was perfect. She was deep in conversation with the girl sitting by her, bent forward, her hair curling round her face, her eyes wide. He wrapped his fingers in her long curling hair and rested his forehead against hers. Before long she'd nod off, book splayed out the armrest, fingers still curled around the mug. Allow the pieces to cool before moving them to prevent curling and crimping. He bent downward, and curled his fingers into one large fist. He untied something from his neck and placed it in her hand, and curled her fingers round it. When he didn't move she curled her hand around the solid shoulder and shook him gently. He looks sun-tanned and well, clearly enjoying his cup of tea as he daintily curls his fingers round the handle. His hand moved to curl fondly around my waist as we walked down the hall. She had her jacket slung over her shoulder, her finger curled through the loop in a way that was enticing despite being mundane. Her fingers curled tightly into his hair, almost pulling it in her frustration. Synonyms wind, twine, entwine, wrap crimp, wave, tong perm go curly, go frizzy, frizz out, frizzle, crinkle 1.1curl upno object Sit or lie with the knees drawn up. she curled up and went to sleep Example sentencesExamples Madeleine curled up into a ball on the floor, drawing her knees tightly to her chest and hugging them. And when she is done, she curls up on the couch and smiles to herself. As the dog curls up beside me and another shower of sparks soars into the night I reflect that this is a minor complaint. As she curls up in her chair like a Siamese, I feel my hips press up against the arm rests and wonder where she's finding all that extra space to pretzel her body into feline folds. He curled up on the seat beside me, fixing me with his daunting blue-gold eyes. A friendly dog runs up to us and curls up in my husband's lap. He would curl up into the foetal position and weep at the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name. If you have a right angled desk with screens behind it, then curl up underneath it during your break. I close my eyes again, drawing my knees up to my chest and curling up in a defensive ball. He curls up in his seat, knees up to his shoulders, his arms hugging himself tight. Me, I would curl up in a fetal position under the table and wait for someone to rescue me. I curled up in a corner and buried my head in my knees and started sobbing as subtly as I could. At that moment the princess flipped herself over to curl up into a tighter position. In the meantime young people continue to be shut in rooms to slowly curl up and die. She sat down on her comfy couch, curling up in a ball. But I just feel like nailing my door shut and curling up in a ball in the corner of my room. He could not make up his mind if he wanted to snuggle or just curl up at the foot of the bed. I threw him a dirty look and turned back around, curling up in the seat again. She moved slowly out of her curled up position and painfully stretched out her limbs. After rustling up her favourite linguine with garlic oil and pancetta, Nigella changes into her dressing gown and curls up in bed, alone except for the pasta, to eat and watch telly in silence. Synonyms nestle, snuggle, cuddle huddle North American snug down 1.2 Move or cause to move in a spiral or curved course. no object, with adverbial of direction a wisp of smoke curling across the sky Example sentencesExamples Her smoke curled toward the light over the table where a moth was bumping against the bulb. He takes a shot from the dead ball line, but it curls behind the goal. He eyed the smoke curling out of the oven and was in a state of semi-panic and confusion. Two men sit in a small, claustrophobic room, cigarette smoke curling through the soft light. The smoke from his pipe curled into the air in lazy circles. Doc turned us on a straight line for the wagon train and they curled off their course to meet us. I glanced up at the sky, and indeed, smoke was curling lazily from one of three chimneys. She began to fiddle with it nervously, turning it over and over in her hands, the cigarette bobbing up and down with smoke curling across her hands. But with two minutes remaining it was he who managed to grab the winner when he curled in a shot from 20 yards. Smoke rose in curling tendrils up to the ceiling that was starting to stain with the toxic fumes. The assistant referee signalled that the cross had curled out of play before hitting the woodwork. He just tried another curler, but it was too curly and it curled away from goal. Your wings can also curl around the post players or even go baseline and exchange places with each other. He took precise aim with a lob from the corner of the box but it refused to curl in and drifted harmlessly across goal. Sweet-smelling fingers of smoke twisted and curled into the air, filling the sanctuary with a primordial mist. Orthodox priests held a memorial service, and the blue smoke of incense smoke curled in the hot summer air. Smoke curled inside itself, pushing out through slitted windows. It curls towards goal and he plucks it confidently from the air. I felt my stomach backflip as the smoke curled around me. I just curled around him and pulled up at the free throw line. Synonyms spiral, coil, wreathe, twirl, swirl, furl wind, curve, bend, twist, twist and turn, loop, meander, snake, corkscrew, zigzag 1.3 (with reference to one's mouth or upper lip) raise or cause to raise slightly on one side as an expression of contempt or disapproval. no object Maria saw his lip curl sardonically Example sentencesExamples Her upper lip curled slightly in a faint scowl as she gathered the parchment up in her hand and broke the serpent seal with her fingernail. Unfortunately, after uttering that word, most roll their eyes or curl their upper lip in mild disgust and just plain lose interest in the conversation. The old man was staring at him, upper lip curled back from his teeth. He scowled, his upper lip curling so slightly that his lips did not part. Slowly, the side of her mouth curled into a smile, and the silence was broken by a quiet snicker. I rolled my eyes and curled my upper lip in feigned revulsion. A look of disgust that had never been known to grace Michael's face settled heavily over his features, his upper lip curling as he surveyed her. He kept his voice neutral, but the left side of his upper lip curled slightly in disapproval. His mouth curled slightly as he looked her over, and Lily sighed and looked away. My lip curled in contempt as I noticed the thing clinging to his arm. His eyes darkened, and the right side of his lips curled slightly. One side of his mouth curled upward as I assumed that he recognized me. It stood in front of me and it curled its upper lip, exposing one canine and incisor. The husband's lips were curled slightly, forming a meager smile; the wife was wearing no smile at all. Doug's lips curl in contempt towards his brother-in-law. The sides of his lips curled upwards ever so slightly that if you had even blinked for a millisecond you would have missed it. I had my nose curled slightly and my mouth opened in surprise as I looked from one to the other. When it curled its upper lip in a snarl, long fangs peeked out between its other straight teeth. When Sean was safely out of earshot, he allowed his upper lip to curl into the slightest sneer. I turned to her, slightly entertained at the annoyance curling her upper lip. 2with object (in weight training) lift (a weight) using only the hands, wrists, and forearms. slowly curl the barbell to shoulder height Example sentencesExamples Then curl the barbell up and let it slowly drop back down until your hands are hanging. Tighten your midsection, take a deep breath, curl both weights toward your shoulders and exhale at the top. Hold that breath as you curl both weights toward your shoulders, exhaling slowly as you finish the concentric part of the rep. For example, if you did the barbell curl and it took you two seconds to curl the weight up and another two seconds to lower it, that's four seconds of tension per rep. And yet, how many times have you seen a guy curling a barbell that's so heavy, he's throwing it up with his back and taking the work away from his arms? Slowly curl the weights up to your shoulders, tightening the bicep muscle as you go. With shoulders back and elbows at your sides, curl the weights as you turn your palms up. He flexes his elbows in earnest to begin curling the weight at a moderate pace, under control. Keeping your upper arm pressed against your thigh, curl the weight up and toward your shoulder. Just before you completely lower the weight, begin curling with the other arm. Regardless of which isolation exercise I select, the plan is to curl the weight slowly and to go for a full muscular contraction. For instance, rather than keeping your torso rigid during barbell curls, you can sway backward and then forward as you curl the weight upward. Make sure your biceps contraction alone curls the weight all the way to the top. You're curling twice as much weight, so you have to work harder, whereas alternate curls allow more rest for each arm between reps. The boss still worked his muscles, lifting and curling with special weights that he bought when they still made such things. With the bar down in front of my thighs, I curl the weight up while keeping my upper arms in place. Grasp the handles of the machine and inhale as you flex the knees and slowly curl the weights until the pads touch the buttocks. With the supinating curl, you start with your hands in the hammer position and turn your palms up as you curl the weight. With elbows fixed in position, she contracts her biceps to curl the weights toward her shoulders. My intent is to rely on biceps contractions alone to curl the heaviest weight possible, reaching failure at six reps or, at the most, eight. 3no object Play at the game of curling. during the severe spell in 1740, men curled on the pond Example sentencesExamples He started curling while attending college in Minnesota, but has given up on the sport since. She began curling in high school and finished second at the Wisconsin state high school championships. noun kəːlkərl 1Something in the shape of a spiral or coil, especially a lock of hair. her blonde hair was a mass of tangled curls a curl of blue smoke Example sentencesExamples Her eyes followed the winding twists and the curls of smoke as the sky broke open to the ocean beneath. She then called for her maid to do her hair, which ended up in elaborate curls, twisted and pinned around a pearl and sapphire tiara. Her auburn hair fell down about her shoulders, the ends styled in spiral curls. Pins, clips, combs, and feathers captured their graying hair into elaborate curls and twists. The curl of smoke twisted through the tall grass as the hunter stared over the hill tops. She had desperately tried to tame her hair by running a comb through her tangle of curls, but with no avail. Her hair was damp too, making her usually straight hair coil up in small curls. He was smaller than the man at the door, his hair tied back in a tangle of dark curls. Beautiful blonde locks and bouncy curls framed the delicately shaped face. After a year of curls, hair is heading for a pared-down look. She has a mass of black curls, a long, still stare, a restless intellect. The easiest way to shape thin chocolate curls is to shave them directly from a block of chocolate, using a swivel vegetable peeler or sharp knife. You won't see his receivers running a lot of curls, running to the sideline or catching the ball from a dead stop. The vegetables will open up or set in wonderful stars, curls or palm-tree shapes. Its face, beneath a shaggy fall of raven black curls, was delicately shaped and as stark as bone, with no hint of rosy cheek or kind intention. My hair was in spiral curls that hung loosely around my face, forming a dark shadow around my glowing face. Shower and shampoo has left my hair in an uncontrollable mass of curls and tangles. The holsters have a lip curl so the cylinder will not hang up when re-holstering. Fear, greed and sexual obsession tangle in a plot that has more twists than a curl of smoke traveling through a double helix. Her hair was in a French twist with a few curls framing her face. Synonyms ringlet, corkscrew, coil, kink, wave kiss-curl spiral, coil, wreath, twirl, swirl, furl, twist, corkscrew, curlicue, whorl, helix, gyre 1.1 A curling movement. the sneering curl of his lip Example sentencesExamples Worse than that: they evoke a contemptuous curl of the lip. In a minute, I am onto the coast road and following its curl as it descends toward probably the most famous beach in the world. I could tell he had adopted an unusual air by the strange curl on his beautiful lips. That bent and stooped body became, for a time, capable of conveying the subtlest of messages in an arch of an eyebrow, the curl of a lip. She looks at him with a delighted curl to her red lips. He inhabits the champ from the first curl of his lip and half-lidded gaze. Nothing wrong with that, but a slight tweak in hand position transforms an ordinary curl into a hammer curl. He fought to control the instinctive curl of his lip. I read over my recent entries with a curl to my lip; I'm not at my sparkling best in winter. His eyes speak volumes and a sneering curl of his lip or raising of the brow conveys as much as a page of dialogue or explanation. She easily captures this grasping floozy, with just a curl of her bee-stung lips and her eyes alternately vacant and cunning. Unfortunately, while we might be prepared to complain about deficiencies in our own immediate locality, when we see a mess further afield we tend to pass it by with a curl of the lip. However, there was an angry curl to his lips as he awaited the Old Man's explanation. With a squint of eye, a curl of lip, a twist of neck, and a body slanguage equally at home in boardrooms and barrooms, she embodies everyone she sees. He, apparently ruthless in his ambition, gave up on mainstream politics with barely a curl of those famous lips. Aimee could spot the vindictive curl on his lips, the hand holding the cup of fruit juice rising and before she knew it, the contents of the cups were emptied all over her. With a roll of my eyes and a curl of my lip, I took out my notebook and started sketching. She averted her eyes, shifting her gaze to her feet in an attempt to avoid the mischievous curl of his lips. She tried to ignore her, but she caught the quick curl of lips and grinned. 1.2 (with reference to a person's hair) a state or condition of being curled. your hair has a natural curl mass noun large perm rods give volume and control rather than lots of curl Example sentencesExamples It is then treated with an oxidizing solution that reforms protein bonds and causes the hair to maintain a curl. My blonde tresses had caused me trouble ever since I had my haircut up to my shoulders, from a previous length of my waist, and the natural curl came out. Use a curling iron to add a very soft curl at the bottom of the lock of hair. Gabriel had black hair cut short at the sides and back, while the top and front was long enough to show the curl in his thick hair. A quick climb up the family tree and it's easy to pick out the source of our eye color, the curl in our hair, even our personality quirks. Something about the dress brought out the twinkle in her eyes and the curl of her dark hair. There wasn't an ounce of curl in any hair on her head, and she was sure that he would be most disappointed in her appearance. Because hair is porous, it absorbs moisture, which activates curl. She released the lock of dark brown hair, letting it fall into a graceful spiral curl. The damp is taking all the curl out of my naturally curly hair! Finally, for you curly heads, don't towel dry your hair because it'll break up your natural curl, creating lackluster, frizzy hair. Personally I hate my hair; it tends to have a natural curl to it, so I cut it to prevent it from getting out of control. He had short apricot-colored hair with a small hint of curl, his eyes shown a bright green, and his face was gently colored with a soft patch of freckles. I bit my lip lightly as I finished putting the final curl in the left ponytail on my head. It ‘gave a rotundity to my person, a wave and curl to my hair, and perhaps led me to fancy pictorial illustration and flaming colours’. 1.3 see leaf curl 2A weightlifting exercise involving movement of only the hands, wrists, and forearms. a dumb-bell curl Example sentencesExamples You might also decide to try an alternate exercise like stiff-legged deadlifts or seated curls. To illustrate my point, try doing reverse curls with the same weight with which you can perform a standard barbell curl. Basically, the setup and execution are the same as for reverse wrist curls, except for the grip, which is underhand. Switch your type of leg curl (lying, seated or standing) and rep pattern frequently. Therefore, you might want to perform an isolation exercise such as preacher curls instead and take the delts out of play. Heavy compound lifts, such as squats and deadlifts, typically require a longer rest period than pushdowns or wrist curls. Ego wins the day, and another pair of biceps is left to wilt for the glory of a heavy barbell curl. The exercise that best meets those criteria is standing alternate dumbbell curls. So, naturally, this meant we'd better do one more exercise - concentration curls. The lying cable biceps curl helps bodybuilders more thoroughly develop their biceps and brachialis muscles. The workout consists of three basic exercises: wrist curls, reverse wrist curls and forearm rotations. Barbell and dumbbell wrist curls work well, as do behind-the-back wrist curls. It seems the freakier the forearms, the fewer wrist curls an elite bodybuilder has performed. I never cheat while doing my arm exercises, but I decided to listen to Arnold and try his barbell cheat curl. Because the Smith machine limits you to a fixed path, the range of motion here will be shorter than on a free-weight barbell curl. This is another type of curl that effectively isolates the biceps. This lift uniquely stresses forearm flexors that other wrist curls underemphasize. Follow this set with hamstring and/or glute exercises such as stiff-leg deadlifts and leg curls. For example, when doing barbell curls I'll lower the bar slowly, really controlling the weight. For the biceps, start out with a major massbuilding exercise like barbell curls. 3Mathematics A function giving a measure of the rotation of a vector field. Phrases make someone's hair curl informal Shock or horrify someone. she drives at a speed to make your hair curl Example sentencesExamples There are things going in in this world that make your hair curl. Some of the bad guys there did things that would probably make even your hair curl - and I don't even want to give you any ideas. Whatever your politics, it will make your hair curl. The last information he had received was from survivors, and it was horrifying, that it would make a man 's hair curl. The string of expletives that then emitted from the phone would make you hair curl. Synonyms shock, stun, horrify, appal, scandalize, make someone's blood run cold Origin Late Middle English: from obsolete crulle 'curly', from Middle Dutch krul. Rhymes birl, burl, churl, earl, Erle, furl, girl, herl, hurl, knurl, merle, pas seul, pearl, purl, Searle, skirl, squirl, swirl, twirl, whirl, whorl verb.1 phr. Definition of curl in US English: curl verbkərlkərl 1Form or cause to form into a curved or spiral shape. no object her fingers curled around the microphone a slice of ham had begun to curl up at the edges with object she used to curl her hair with rags Example sentencesExamples Her straight hair was curled slightly, curving below her shoulders. Instead, her arms circled his neck, her fingers curling into his hair. Before long she'd nod off, book splayed out the armrest, fingers still curled around the mug. He untied something from his neck and placed it in her hand, and curled her fingers round it. They are oddly shaped, curled in at five points on each dried leaf. He reached out and touched her face gently, a windblown strand of hair curling around his finger. You've known him for less than a week, and he's already got you curled round his little finger! Her hair was curled with little corkscrews coming down, and a loose bun full of curls, with a few extra sparkly hair clips in it. He wrapped his fingers in her long curling hair and rested his forehead against hers. She had her jacket slung over her shoulder, her finger curled through the loop in a way that was enticing despite being mundane. Lightly pan-fry bologna slice (with rind) until it curls into a bowl shape. He bent downward, and curled his fingers into one large fist. When he didn't move she curled her hand around the solid shoulder and shook him gently. Laughing, she walks over to the table and lightly flicks her fingers through Ian's curling brown hair. His tiny pink fingers and toes were curled tightly, and his eyes were shut, but, to his mother, he was perfect. Her fingers curled tightly into his hair, almost pulling it in her frustration. Allow the pieces to cool before moving them to prevent curling and crimping. His hand moved to curl fondly around my waist as we walked down the hall. She was deep in conversation with the girl sitting by her, bent forward, her hair curling round her face, her eyes wide. He looks sun-tanned and well, clearly enjoying his cup of tea as he daintily curls his fingers round the handle. Synonyms wind, twine, entwine, wrap crimp, wave, tong go curly, go frizzy, frizz out, frizzle, crinkle 1.1curl upno object Sit or lie with the knees drawn up. she curled up and went to sleep Example sentencesExamples He would curl up into the foetal position and weep at the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name. He curls up in his seat, knees up to his shoulders, his arms hugging himself tight. At that moment the princess flipped herself over to curl up into a tighter position. She moved slowly out of her curled up position and painfully stretched out her limbs. As she curls up in her chair like a Siamese, I feel my hips press up against the arm rests and wonder where she's finding all that extra space to pretzel her body into feline folds. As the dog curls up beside me and another shower of sparks soars into the night I reflect that this is a minor complaint. But I just feel like nailing my door shut and curling up in a ball in the corner of my room. He could not make up his mind if he wanted to snuggle or just curl up at the foot of the bed. Me, I would curl up in a fetal position under the table and wait for someone to rescue me. I close my eyes again, drawing my knees up to my chest and curling up in a defensive ball. Madeleine curled up into a ball on the floor, drawing her knees tightly to her chest and hugging them. And when she is done, she curls up on the couch and smiles to herself. She sat down on her comfy couch, curling up in a ball. In the meantime young people continue to be shut in rooms to slowly curl up and die. I threw him a dirty look and turned back around, curling up in the seat again. He curled up on the seat beside me, fixing me with his daunting blue-gold eyes. If you have a right angled desk with screens behind it, then curl up underneath it during your break. After rustling up her favourite linguine with garlic oil and pancetta, Nigella changes into her dressing gown and curls up in bed, alone except for the pasta, to eat and watch telly in silence. A friendly dog runs up to us and curls up in my husband's lap. I curled up in a corner and buried my head in my knees and started sobbing as subtly as I could. Synonyms nestle, snuggle, cuddle 1.2 Move or cause to move in a spiral or curved course. no object, with adverbial of direction a wisp of smoke curling across the sky Example sentencesExamples He eyed the smoke curling out of the oven and was in a state of semi-panic and confusion. I just curled around him and pulled up at the free throw line. Her smoke curled toward the light over the table where a moth was bumping against the bulb. The smoke from his pipe curled into the air in lazy circles. It curls towards goal and he plucks it confidently from the air. She began to fiddle with it nervously, turning it over and over in her hands, the cigarette bobbing up and down with smoke curling across her hands. Two men sit in a small, claustrophobic room, cigarette smoke curling through the soft light. I glanced up at the sky, and indeed, smoke was curling lazily from one of three chimneys. Your wings can also curl around the post players or even go baseline and exchange places with each other. Orthodox priests held a memorial service, and the blue smoke of incense smoke curled in the hot summer air. Smoke rose in curling tendrils up to the ceiling that was starting to stain with the toxic fumes. I felt my stomach backflip as the smoke curled around me. Doc turned us on a straight line for the wagon train and they curled off their course to meet us. Sweet-smelling fingers of smoke twisted and curled into the air, filling the sanctuary with a primordial mist. Smoke curled inside itself, pushing out through slitted windows. The assistant referee signalled that the cross had curled out of play before hitting the woodwork. He took precise aim with a lob from the corner of the box but it refused to curl in and drifted harmlessly across goal. He just tried another curler, but it was too curly and it curled away from goal. But with two minutes remaining it was he who managed to grab the winner when he curled in a shot from 20 yards. He takes a shot from the dead ball line, but it curls behind the goal. Synonyms spiral, coil, wreathe, twirl, swirl, furl 1.3 (with reference to one's mouth or upper lip) raise or cause to raise slightly on one side as an expression of contempt or disapproval. no object Maria saw his lip curl sardonically Example sentencesExamples I rolled my eyes and curled my upper lip in feigned revulsion. It stood in front of me and it curled its upper lip, exposing one canine and incisor. He kept his voice neutral, but the left side of his upper lip curled slightly in disapproval. His eyes darkened, and the right side of his lips curled slightly. Slowly, the side of her mouth curled into a smile, and the silence was broken by a quiet snicker. When it curled its upper lip in a snarl, long fangs peeked out between its other straight teeth. I turned to her, slightly entertained at the annoyance curling her upper lip. Doug's lips curl in contempt towards his brother-in-law. The sides of his lips curled upwards ever so slightly that if you had even blinked for a millisecond you would have missed it. Her upper lip curled slightly in a faint scowl as she gathered the parchment up in her hand and broke the serpent seal with her fingernail. The husband's lips were curled slightly, forming a meager smile; the wife was wearing no smile at all. I had my nose curled slightly and my mouth opened in surprise as I looked from one to the other. My lip curled in contempt as I noticed the thing clinging to his arm. A look of disgust that had never been known to grace Michael's face settled heavily over his features, his upper lip curling as he surveyed her. The old man was staring at him, upper lip curled back from his teeth. One side of his mouth curled upward as I assumed that he recognized me. He scowled, his upper lip curling so slightly that his lips did not part. Unfortunately, after uttering that word, most roll their eyes or curl their upper lip in mild disgust and just plain lose interest in the conversation. When Sean was safely out of earshot, he allowed his upper lip to curl into the slightest sneer. His mouth curled slightly as he looked her over, and Lily sighed and looked away. 2with object (in weight training) lift (a weight) using only the hands, wrists, and forearms. Example sentencesExamples He flexes his elbows in earnest to begin curling the weight at a moderate pace, under control. For example, if you did the barbell curl and it took you two seconds to curl the weight up and another two seconds to lower it, that's four seconds of tension per rep. Regardless of which isolation exercise I select, the plan is to curl the weight slowly and to go for a full muscular contraction. Grasp the handles of the machine and inhale as you flex the knees and slowly curl the weights until the pads touch the buttocks. Make sure your biceps contraction alone curls the weight all the way to the top. With shoulders back and elbows at your sides, curl the weights as you turn your palms up. Then curl the barbell up and let it slowly drop back down until your hands are hanging. For instance, rather than keeping your torso rigid during barbell curls, you can sway backward and then forward as you curl the weight upward. With the supinating curl, you start with your hands in the hammer position and turn your palms up as you curl the weight. You're curling twice as much weight, so you have to work harder, whereas alternate curls allow more rest for each arm between reps. Hold that breath as you curl both weights toward your shoulders, exhaling slowly as you finish the concentric part of the rep. Just before you completely lower the weight, begin curling with the other arm. With the bar down in front of my thighs, I curl the weight up while keeping my upper arms in place. With elbows fixed in position, she contracts her biceps to curl the weights toward her shoulders. My intent is to rely on biceps contractions alone to curl the heaviest weight possible, reaching failure at six reps or, at the most, eight. Tighten your midsection, take a deep breath, curl both weights toward your shoulders and exhale at the top. Slowly curl the weights up to your shoulders, tightening the bicep muscle as you go. And yet, how many times have you seen a guy curling a barbell that's so heavy, he's throwing it up with his back and taking the work away from his arms? The boss still worked his muscles, lifting and curling with special weights that he bought when they still made such things. Keeping your upper arm pressed against your thigh, curl the weight up and toward your shoulder. 3no object Play at the game of curling. Example sentencesExamples She began curling in high school and finished second at the Wisconsin state high school championships. He started curling while attending college in Minnesota, but has given up on the sport since. nounkərlkərl 1Something having a spiral or inwardly curved form, especially a lock of hair. her blond hair was a mass of tangled curls a curl of blue smoke Example sentencesExamples The holsters have a lip curl so the cylinder will not hang up when re-holstering. She then called for her maid to do her hair, which ended up in elaborate curls, twisted and pinned around a pearl and sapphire tiara. She had desperately tried to tame her hair by running a comb through her tangle of curls, but with no avail. Pins, clips, combs, and feathers captured their graying hair into elaborate curls and twists. Shower and shampoo has left my hair in an uncontrollable mass of curls and tangles. He was smaller than the man at the door, his hair tied back in a tangle of dark curls. After a year of curls, hair is heading for a pared-down look. The easiest way to shape thin chocolate curls is to shave them directly from a block of chocolate, using a swivel vegetable peeler or sharp knife. She has a mass of black curls, a long, still stare, a restless intellect. Her hair was in a French twist with a few curls framing her face. Beautiful blonde locks and bouncy curls framed the delicately shaped face. The vegetables will open up or set in wonderful stars, curls or palm-tree shapes. Her auburn hair fell down about her shoulders, the ends styled in spiral curls. Her hair was damp too, making her usually straight hair coil up in small curls. Her eyes followed the winding twists and the curls of smoke as the sky broke open to the ocean beneath. The curl of smoke twisted through the tall grass as the hunter stared over the hill tops. My hair was in spiral curls that hung loosely around my face, forming a dark shadow around my glowing face. You won't see his receivers running a lot of curls, running to the sideline or catching the ball from a dead stop. Its face, beneath a shaggy fall of raven black curls, was delicately shaped and as stark as bone, with no hint of rosy cheek or kind intention. Fear, greed and sexual obsession tangle in a plot that has more twists than a curl of smoke traveling through a double helix. Synonyms ringlet, corkscrew, coil, kink, wave spiral, coil, wreath, twirl, swirl, furl, twist, corkscrew, curlicue, whorl, helix, gyre 1.1 A curling movement. the sneering curl of his lip Example sentencesExamples He inhabits the champ from the first curl of his lip and half-lidded gaze. She easily captures this grasping floozy, with just a curl of her bee-stung lips and her eyes alternately vacant and cunning. She looks at him with a delighted curl to her red lips. He fought to control the instinctive curl of his lip. With a squint of eye, a curl of lip, a twist of neck, and a body slanguage equally at home in boardrooms and barrooms, she embodies everyone she sees. She tried to ignore her, but she caught the quick curl of lips and grinned. I could tell he had adopted an unusual air by the strange curl on his beautiful lips. She averted her eyes, shifting her gaze to her feet in an attempt to avoid the mischievous curl of his lips. Aimee could spot the vindictive curl on his lips, the hand holding the cup of fruit juice rising and before she knew it, the contents of the cups were emptied all over her. I read over my recent entries with a curl to my lip; I'm not at my sparkling best in winter. He, apparently ruthless in his ambition, gave up on mainstream politics with barely a curl of those famous lips. Worse than that: they evoke a contemptuous curl of the lip. With a roll of my eyes and a curl of my lip, I took out my notebook and started sketching. Unfortunately, while we might be prepared to complain about deficiencies in our own immediate locality, when we see a mess further afield we tend to pass it by with a curl of the lip. In a minute, I am onto the coast road and following its curl as it descends toward probably the most famous beach in the world. Nothing wrong with that, but a slight tweak in hand position transforms an ordinary curl into a hammer curl. However, there was an angry curl to his lips as he awaited the Old Man's explanation. His eyes speak volumes and a sneering curl of his lip or raising of the brow conveys as much as a page of dialogue or explanation. That bent and stooped body became, for a time, capable of conveying the subtlest of messages in an arch of an eyebrow, the curl of a lip. 1.2 (with reference to a person's hair) a state or condition of being curled. your hair has a natural curl large perm rods give volume and control rather than lots of curl Example sentencesExamples It is then treated with an oxidizing solution that reforms protein bonds and causes the hair to maintain a curl. Personally I hate my hair; it tends to have a natural curl to it, so I cut it to prevent it from getting out of control. The damp is taking all the curl out of my naturally curly hair! There wasn't an ounce of curl in any hair on her head, and she was sure that he would be most disappointed in her appearance. A quick climb up the family tree and it's easy to pick out the source of our eye color, the curl in our hair, even our personality quirks. Something about the dress brought out the twinkle in her eyes and the curl of her dark hair. Because hair is porous, it absorbs moisture, which activates curl. He had short apricot-colored hair with a small hint of curl, his eyes shown a bright green, and his face was gently colored with a soft patch of freckles. Finally, for you curly heads, don't towel dry your hair because it'll break up your natural curl, creating lackluster, frizzy hair. Gabriel had black hair cut short at the sides and back, while the top and front was long enough to show the curl in his thick hair. I bit my lip lightly as I finished putting the final curl in the left ponytail on my head. My blonde tresses had caused me trouble ever since I had my haircut up to my shoulders, from a previous length of my waist, and the natural curl came out. She released the lock of dark brown hair, letting it fall into a graceful spiral curl. Use a curling iron to add a very soft curl at the bottom of the lock of hair. It ‘gave a rotundity to my person, a wave and curl to my hair, and perhaps led me to fancy pictorial illustration and flaming colours’. 1.3 see leaf curl 2A weightlifting exercise involving movement of only the hands, wrists, and forearms. a dumbbell curl Example sentencesExamples Therefore, you might want to perform an isolation exercise such as preacher curls instead and take the delts out of play. The exercise that best meets those criteria is standing alternate dumbbell curls. For the biceps, start out with a major massbuilding exercise like barbell curls. So, naturally, this meant we'd better do one more exercise - concentration curls. Heavy compound lifts, such as squats and deadlifts, typically require a longer rest period than pushdowns or wrist curls. Basically, the setup and execution are the same as for reverse wrist curls, except for the grip, which is underhand. For example, when doing barbell curls I'll lower the bar slowly, really controlling the weight. I never cheat while doing my arm exercises, but I decided to listen to Arnold and try his barbell cheat curl. You might also decide to try an alternate exercise like stiff-legged deadlifts or seated curls. Ego wins the day, and another pair of biceps is left to wilt for the glory of a heavy barbell curl. This is another type of curl that effectively isolates the biceps. To illustrate my point, try doing reverse curls with the same weight with which you can perform a standard barbell curl. Barbell and dumbbell wrist curls work well, as do behind-the-back wrist curls. Because the Smith machine limits you to a fixed path, the range of motion here will be shorter than on a free-weight barbell curl. The workout consists of three basic exercises: wrist curls, reverse wrist curls and forearm rotations. This lift uniquely stresses forearm flexors that other wrist curls underemphasize. It seems the freakier the forearms, the fewer wrist curls an elite bodybuilder has performed. The lying cable biceps curl helps bodybuilders more thoroughly develop their biceps and brachialis muscles. Follow this set with hamstring and/or glute exercises such as stiff-leg deadlifts and leg curls. Switch your type of leg curl (lying, seated or standing) and rep pattern frequently. 3Mathematics The vector product of the operator del and a given vector. Phrases make someone's hair curl informal Shock or horrify someone. Example sentencesExamples There are things going in in this world that make your hair curl. Whatever your politics, it will make your hair curl. Some of the bad guys there did things that would probably make even your hair curl - and I don't even want to give you any ideas. The string of expletives that then emitted from the phone would make you hair curl. The last information he had received was from survivors, and it was horrifying, that it would make a man 's hair curl. Synonyms shock, stun, horrify, appal, scandalize, make someone's blood run cold Origin Late Middle English: from obsolete crulle ‘curly’, from Middle Dutch krul. verb.1 phr.
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