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# curl

«curl» in Mova's school dictionary: **a piece of hair that grows or is shaped in a round twist** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (curl, curls); verb (curl, curls, curled, curling)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A curl is a piece of hair that grows or is shaped in a round twist. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curl/#m1)

2) To curl is to bend into a round or spiral shape. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curl/#m2)

3) To curl up is to lie with your arms and legs pulled close to your body. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curl/#m3)

4) A curl is any spiral shape, like a curl of smoke. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curl/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life people have curly hair or use curlers. In science lessons hedgehogs and woodlice curl into a ball to protect themselves; leaves curl when dry. In stories a cat curls up by the fire and smoke curls from a chimney. Phrases: curl up, curly hair, curl into a ball, bicep curl, curling (a sport on ice).

### examples

- She has long brown curls. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curl/#x1)
- The cat curled up on the cushion. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curl/#x2)
- A hedgehog curls into a ball when it is scared. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curl/#x3)
- Smoke curled from the chimney. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curl/#x4)
- The dry leaves curled at the edges. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curl/#x5)
- He curled his fingers around the cup. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curl/#x6)
- Curling is a sport played on ice with heavy stones. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curl/#x7)
- Then he curled himself up and went to sleep. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curl/#x8)

### note

Regular verb (curled). Adjective: curly. Curling is a winter sport popular in Canada and Scotland. «Curl up» can also mean to feel very embarrassed: «I wanted to curl up and die».

### In the corpora

- [Many share a sofa, and some curl up asleep on the same rug, especially if they met when young.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/121-spike-and-tom-real-dogs-and-cats/2/)
- [The Jaragua dwarf gecko of the Caribbean is one of the smallest reptiles, small enough to curl up on a coin.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/181-strange-islands-komodo-dragons-the-dodo-red-crabs-kakapos-giants-and-dwarfs/12/)
- [Today they curl up on our sofas and purr.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/294-cats-through-history-egypt-s-sacred-cats-ship-cats-and-tom-and-jerry/5/)
- [Hedgehog curls into a ball and Tortoise pulls in his head and feet, so Jaguar cannot tell which is which.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/82-justso-armadillos-1-painted-jaguar/3/)
- [Jaguar turns it into a rhyme: «Can't curl, but can swim, Slow-Solid, that's him!](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/82-justso-armadillos-1-painted-jaguar/24/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «curl» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curl/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.