curl up

Curl  (kûrl), Robert Floyd, Jr. Born 1933.

American chemist who shared a 1996 Nobel Prize for discovering fullerenes.

---

curl  (kûrl)

v. curled, curl·ing, curls

v.tr.

1. To twist (the hair, for example) into ringlets or coils.

2. To form into a coiled or spiral shape: curled the ends of the ribbon.

3. To decorate with coiled or spiral shapes.

4. To raise and turn under (the upper lip), as in snarling or showing scorn.

5. Sports To lift (a weight) by performing a curl.

v.intr.

1. To form ringlets or coils.

2. To assume a spiral or curved shape.

3. To move in a curve or spiral: The wave curled over the surfer.

4. Sports To engage in curling.

n.

1. Something with a spiral or coiled shape.

2. A coil or ringlet of hair.

3. A treatment in which the hair is curled.

4.

a. The act of curling: the curl of a meandering river.

b. The state of being curled.

5. Sports A weightlifting exercise using one or two hands, in which a weight held at the thigh or to the side of the body is raised to the chest or shoulder and then lowered without moving the upper arms, shoulders, or back.

6. Any of various plant diseases in which the leaves roll up.

Phrasal Verb:

curl up

To assume a position with the legs drawn up: The child curled up in an armchair to read.

---

[Middle English crullen, curlen, from crulle, curly, perhaps of Middle Low German origin.]

---

curl up

vb (adverb)

1. (intr) to adopt a reclining position with the legs close to the body and the back rounded

2. to become or cause to become spiral-shaped or curved

3. (intr) to retire to a quiet cosy setting to curl up with a good novel

4. Brit informal to be or cause to be embarrassed or disgusted (esp in the phrase curl up and die)

Thesaurus

Verb

1.

curl up - shape one's body into a curl; "She curled farther down under the covers"; "She fell and drew in" curl, draw in attract, pull in, draw in, pull, draw - direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes; "Her good looks attract the stares of many men"; "The ad pulled in many potential customers"; "This pianist pulls huge crowds"; "The store owner was happy that the ad drew in many new customers" bend, flex - form a curve; "The stick does not bend"

Translations

? curl up

vi

(animal, person) → sich zusammenrollen or -kugeln; (hedgehog) → sich einigeln; (paper) → sich wellen; (metal) → sich rollen; (leaf) → sich hochbiegen; his moustache curls up at the ends → sein Schnurrbart ist nach oben gezwirbelt; to curl up in bed/in an armchair → sich ins Bett/in einen Sessel kuscheln; to curl up with a good book → es sich (dat) → mit einem guten Buch gemütlich machen

the smoke curled up → der Rauch ringelte sich hoch

(inf) the way he behaves just makes me want to curl up → es macht mich krank, wie er sich benimmt (inf); I just wanted to curl up and die (out of embarrassment etc) → ich wäre am liebsten im Boden versunken

vt sep ends of moustache, piece of paper etc → wellen; metal → rollen; edges → hochbiegen; to curl oneself/itself up → sich zusammenkugeln/zusammenringeln