curl

noun

1. A curving piece or lock of hair; a ringlet.

   “My hair doesn't have much curl.”

   “[…]she took it down, looked long and fondly at it, then, shaking her curls about her face, as if to hide the act, pressed it to her lips and seemed to weep over it in an uncontrollable paroxysm of tender grief.”

   “Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes.[…]She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now, drawing a deep breath which caused the round of her bosom to lift the lace at her throat.”

   “The face which emerged was not reassuring.[…]. He was not a mongol but there was a deficiency of a sort there, and it was not made more pretty by a latter-day hair cut which involved eccentrically long elf-locks and oiled black curls.”

2. A curved stroke or shape.

   “[…] the backs of their necks and their forelegs are decorated with curls and their necks and bodies are covered with fine, undulating lines.”

3. A spin making the trajectory of an object curve.

   “It is possible to use the wind which blows from the left to the right by playing well into the wind with the slightest bit of curl on the ball[…]”

4. Movement of a moving rock away from a straight line.
5. Any exercise performed by bending the arm, wrist, or leg on the exertion against resistance, especially those that train the biceps.

   “Now do a curl and an overhead press, keeping your palms facing in.”

6. The vector field denoting the rotationality of a given vector field.

   “In 2D, when Q is a polygonal domain, the singularities of Type (2) disappear because ψ is the scalar curl of u and is such that its vectorial curl is zero.”

7. (proper-noun)The vector operator, denoted rm curl; or ⃑∇×⃑(·), that generates this field.
8. (uncountable)Any of various diseases of plants causing the leaves or shoots to curl up; often specifically the potato curl.

   “These potatoes, however, planted the next year, have a fair yield, untouched by the curl.”

9. The contrasting light and dark figure seen in wood used for stringed instrument making; the flame.

   “The one-piece back is of a medium curl.”

10. A pattern where the receiver appears to be running a fly pattern but after a set number of steps or yards quickly stops and turns around, looking for a pass.
11. (in-plural)A thin, curved piece of chocolate used as decoration.
12. The concave part of a breaking wave.

    “The main object in surfing is to always remain in the curl.”

13. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of American Curl.

    “Longhaired curls should have silky coats of medium length.”

    “Curls may be mated with curls.”

    “In addition to their ears, Curls are known for their silky, flat coat which can be long or short.”

verb

1. (transitive)To cause to move in a curve.

   “He picked the ball up about forty yards out on the left wing, left a trail of Arsenal defenders in his wake, and curled the ball round Geoff Barnett as he came right out into the far corner.”

   “Campbell should have scored but missed with a header from four yards at the far post before Taylor-Fletcher came close to adding a second when he curled an effort over the stranded Reina, who should have been punished for a poor clearance.”

2. (transitive)To make into a curl or spiral.

   “She curls her spine; she wedges a pillow between her knees.”

3. (intransitive)To assume the shape of a curl or spiral.

   “It seemed to me that Mr. St. John's under lip protruded, and his upper lip curled a moment.”

4. (intransitive)To move in curves.

   “Clouds curled down from the mountains.”

   “The ball curled to a stop within six inches of the hole.”

5. (intransitive)To take part in the sport of curling.

   “I curl at my local club every weekend.”

6. (transitive)To exercise by bending the arm, wrist, or leg on the exertion against resistance, especially of the biceps.

   “When curling the weight, bring the barbell up toward the chin, then return it to its starting position. Keep your elbows and upper arms as immobile as possible to isolate the biceps.”

7. To twist or form (the hair, etc.) into ringlets.

   “But curl their locks with bodkins and with braids”

   “There was also hairdressing: hairdressing, too, really was hairdressing in those times — no running a comb through it and that was that. It was curled, frizzed, waved, put in curlers overnight, waved with hot tongs;[…].”

8. To deck with, or as if with, curls; to ornament.

   “Thicker than the snakie locks / That curld Megæra.”

   “Curling with metaphors a plain intention.”

9. To raise in waves or undulations; to ripple.

   “Seas would be pools without the brushing air / To curl the waves.”

10. To shape (the brim of a hat) into a curve.

name

1. A surname.