curtain

cur|tain¹ W3S2 [ˈkə:tn US ˈkə:rtn] n

[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: curtine, from Late Latin cortina, from Latin cohors 'enclosure, court'; COHORT]

1.) a piece of hanging cloth that can be pulled across to cover a window, divide a room etc

▪ red velvet curtains

draw/close/pull the curtains

▪ Ella drew the curtains and switched the light on.

draw back/open the curtains

▪ Shall I open the curtains?

2.) a sheet of heavy material that comes down at the front of the stage in a theatre

the curtain goes up/rises

▪ Before the curtain went up, the dancers took their places on stage.

the curtain comes down/falls

3.) written a thick layer of something that stops anything behind it from being seen

curtain of

▪ a curtain of smoke

4.) bring down the curtain on sth informal

to cause or mark the end of a situation or period of time

▪ The decision brought down the curtain on a 30-year career.

5.) (it'll) be curtains for sb/sth informal

used to say that someone will die or that something will end

curtain ²

curtain² v

curtain off [curtain sth<=>off] phr v

to separate one area, room etc from another by hanging a curtain between them

▪ The room was curtained off by red drapes.