(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
Curtains are large pieces of material which you hang from the top of a window. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use drapes )
Her bedroom ~s were drawn.
N-COUNT
2.
Curtains are pieces of very thin material which you hang in front of windows in order to prevent people from seeing in. (AM; in BRIT, use net ~s )
N-COUNT
3.
In a theatre, the ~ is the large piece of material that hangs in front of the stage until a performance begins.
The ~ rises toward the end of the Prelude.
N-SING: the N
4.
You can refer to something as a ~ when it is thick and difficult to see through or get past. (LITERARY)
He saw something dark disappear behind the ~ of leaves.
N-SING: usu N of n
see also Iron Curtain
5.
If something brings down the ~ on an event or situation, it causes or marks the end of it.
Management changes are under way that will finally bring down the ~ on Lord Forte’s extraordinary working life.
PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n