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curb

The hard thing about learning how to parallel park is trying to get the car close enough to the curb without hitting it. A curb is the edge of the sidewalk beside the road.

When you're using the word curb as a noun, it's the raised edging beside a street. When curb is a verb, it means to restrain or hold back, like when you curb your impulse to laugh while watching a badly acted play. Curb comes from the Latin word for "curve," curvus, which describes the shape of a restraining strap on a horse's head — in the fifteenth century, this band was called a curb.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: curb

1	n v	the act of restraining power or action or limiting excess lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits
2	n v	an edge between a sidewalk and a roadway consisting of a line of curbstones (usually forming part of a gutter) keep to the curb

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: curb

n the act of restraining power or action or limiting excess

Synonyms:: bridle, check

Type of:: restraint
the act of controlling by restraining someone or something

n a horse's bit with an attached chain or strap to check the horse

Synonyms:: curb bit

Type of:: bit
piece of metal held in horse's mouth by reins and used to control the horse while riding

v lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits

Synonyms:: check, contain, control, hold, hold in, moderate

Types:: show 37 types...; hide 37 types...; bound, confine, limit, restrain, restrict, throttle, trammel
place limits on (extent or access); conquer, inhibit, stamp down, subdue, suppress
to put down by force or authority; damp
restrain or discourage; crucify, mortify, subdue
hold within limits and control; abnegate, deny
deny oneself (something); restrain, especially from indulging in some pleasure; restrict
place under restrictions; limit access to; train
cause to grow in a certain way by tying and pruning it; catch
check oneself during an action; bate
moderate or restrain; lessen the force of; thermostat
control the temperature with a thermostat; counteract, countercheck
oppose or check by a counteraction; blink, blink away, wink
force to go away by blinking; reduce, tighten
narrow or limit; tie
limit or restrict to; gate
restrict (school boys') movement to the dormitory or campus as a means of punishment; draw a line, draw the line
reasonably object (to) or set a limit (on); mark off, mark out
set boundaries to and delimit; harness, rein, rule
keep in check; baffle, regulate
check the emission of (sound); cramp, halter, hamper, strangle
prevent the progress or free movement of; dampen, stifle
smother or suppress; choke back, choke down, choke off
suppress; constrain, stiffen, tighten, tighten up
restrict; clamp down, crack down
repress or suppress (something regarded as undesirable); hush, hush up, quieten, shut up, silence, still
cause to be quiet or not talk; inhibit
limit the range or extent of; burke
get rid of, silence, or suppress; silence
keep from expression, for example by threats or pressure; quell, quench, squelch
suppress or crush completely; constrain, cumber, encumber, restrain
hold back; muffle, repress, smother, stifle, strangle
conceal or hide; mortify
practice self-denial of one's body and appetites; classify
declare unavailable, as for security reasons; taboo
declare as sacred and forbidden; trellis
train on a trellis, as of a vine; scant, skimp
limit in quality or quantity; localise, localize
restrict something to a particular area

Type of:: hold back, keep, keep back, restrain
keep under control; keep in check

v place restrictions on

Synonyms:: curtail, cut back, restrict

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; abridge
lessen, diminish, or curtail; immobilise, immobilize
cause to be unable to move; paralyse, paralyze
cause to be paralyzed and immobile; stun, stupefy
make senseless or dizzy by or as if by a blow

Type of:: circumscribe, confine, limit
restrict or confine, "I limit you to two visits to the pub a day"

v to put down by force or authority

Synonyms:: conquer, inhibit, stamp down, subdue, suppress

Types:: show 13 types...; hide 13 types...; blink, blink away, wink
force to go away by blinking; dampen, stifle
smother or suppress; choke back, choke down, choke off
suppress; hush, hush up, quieten, shut up, silence, still
cause to be quiet or not talk; burke
get rid of, silence, or suppress; silence
keep from expression, for example by threats or pressure; quell, quench, squelch
suppress or crush completely; muffle, repress, smother, stifle, strangle
conceal or hide; shush
silence (someone) by uttering `shush!'; choke, suffocate
suppress the development, creativity, or imagination of; calm down, lull
become quiet or less intensive; shout down
silence or overwhelm by shouting; gag, muzzle
prevent from speaking out

Type of:: check, contain, control, hold, hold in, moderate
lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits

n an edge between a sidewalk and a roadway consisting of a line of curbstones (usually forming part of a gutter)

Synonyms:: curbing, kerb

Type of:: edge
a sharp side formed by the intersection of two surfaces of an object

v keep to the curb

“curb your dogs”

Type of:: constrain, cumber, encumber, restrain
hold back

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