/ Dictionary / Index C curtain: Meaning and Definition of Find definitions for: cur•tain Pronunciation: (kûr'tn), [key] — n. a hanging piece of fabric used to shut out the light from a window, adorn a room, increase privacy, etc. a movable or folding screen used for similar purposes. a window shade. an 8:30 curtain. a set of hanging drapery for concealing all or part of the stage or set from the view of the audience. the act or time of raising or opening a curtain at the start of a performance:an 8:30 curtain. the end of a scene or act indicated by the closing or falling of a curtain:first-act curtain. an effect, line, or plot solution at the conclusion of a performance:a strong curtain; weak curtain. music signaling the end of a radio or television performance. (used as a direction in a script of a play to indicate that a scene or act is concluded.) anything that shuts off, covers, or conceals: a curtain of artillery fire. a relatively flat or featureless extent of wall between two pavilions or the like. the part of a wall or rampart connecting two bastions, towers, or the like. the end; death, esp. by violence: It looked like curtains for another mobster. to draw the curtain on a long career of public service. to bring to a close:to draw the curtain on a long career of public service. to keep secret. to lift the curtain on a new scientific discovery. to commence; start. to make known or public; disclose:to lift the curtain on a new scientific discovery. —v.t. to provide, shut off, conceal, or adorn with, or as if with, a curtain. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease. See also: curtain (Thesaurus) curtail curtain call Related Content Daily Word Quiz: eccentric Analogy of the Day: Today’s Analogy Spelling Bee: Today’s Spelling Bee Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language