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# curtain

«curtain» in Mova's school dictionary: **a piece of cloth that hangs over a window to block light…** — 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 (a curtain, curtains)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A curtain is a piece of cloth that hangs over a window to block light or stop people looking in. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtain/#m1)

2) A curtain is also the big cloth across the front of a stage in a theatre. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtain/#m2)

3) A curtain of something is a thick wall of it, like a curtain of rain. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtain/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life, people draw (close) the curtains at night and open them in the morning. In safety, curtain cords and blind cords can strangle young children, so they must be tied up high; curtains should be kept away from candles and heaters. In the theatre, the curtain goes up at the start and comes down at the end; a curtain call is when actors bow. Phrases: draw the curtains, open the curtains, shower curtain, curtain call, behind the curtain.

### examples

- Please close the curtains; it's getting dark. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtain/#x1)
- She opened the curtains and let the sun in. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtain/#x2)
- The curtain went up and the play began. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtain/#x3)
- Keep candles away from the curtains. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtain/#x4)
- Tie up curtain cords so little kids can't reach them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtain/#x5)
- We hid behind the curtain in hide-and-seek. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtain/#x6)
- A curtain of rain swept across the field. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtain/#x7)
- The actors came out for a curtain call. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtain/#x8)
- She drew aside the curtains of the little bed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curtain/#x9)

### note

Countable; usually plural for windows: «the curtains». «Draw the curtains» can mean open or close them. American English also says «drapes» for heavy curtains. Spelled -tain: cur-tain.

### In the corpora

- [The curtain call is the bows at the end, and it is rehearsed, often with the lead bowing last.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/28-the-school-play-auditions-lines-stage-fright/14/)
- [Instead, a curtain of baleen plates hangs from the upper jaw, made of keratin, the same stuff as your fingernails.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/312-whales-by-kind-the-baleen-whales-blue-fin-humpback-grey-right-and-minke/1/)
- [The Cat asks the curtain, the fire and the milk-pots to remember.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/94-justso-cat-2-a-bargain-and-a-baby/8/)
- [Sunlight's ultraviolet rays break dye molecules apart, so curtains and posters fade near a window and museums keep the lights low.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chemistry/27-dyes-inks-colouring/19/)
- [Candles left burning near curtains or while people sleep are a common cause of house fires.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/115-fire-candles-and-garden-tools/23/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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