GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 3 definitions

1.       
   Curb , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Curbed ; p. pr. & vb. n. Curbing.] [F. courber to bend, curve, L.curvare, fr. curvus bent, curved; cf. Gr. κυρτός curved. Cf. Curve.]
   To bend or curve. [Obs.]
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   Crooked and curbed lines.
   Holland.
   
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   To guide and manage, or restrain, as with a curb; to bend to one's will; to subject; to subdue; to restrain; to confine; to keep in check.
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   Part wield their arms, part curb the foaming steed.
   Milton.
   
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   Where pinching want must curb thy warm desires.
   Prior.
   
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   To furnish with a curb, as a well; also, to restrain by a curb, as a bank of earth.
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2.       
   Curb, v. i. To bend; to crouch; to cringe. [Obs.]
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   Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg,
   Yea, curb and woo for leave to do him good.
   Shak.
   
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3.       
   Curb, n.
   That which curbs, restrains, or subdues; a check or hindrance; esp., a chain or strap attached to the upper part of the branches of a bit, and capable of being drawn tightly against the lower jaw of the horse.
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   He that before ran in the pastures wild
   Felt the stiff curb control his angry jaws.
   Drayton.
   
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   By these men, religion,that should be
   The curb, is made the spur of tyranny.
   Denham.
   
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   (Arch.) An assemblage of three or more pieces of timber, or a metal member, forming a frame around an opening, and serving to maintain the integrity of that opening; also, a ring of stone serving a similar purpose, as at the eye of a dome.
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   A frame or wall round the mouth of a well; also, a frame within a well to prevent the earth caving in.
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   A curbstone.
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   (Far.) A swelling on the back part of the hind leg of a horse, just behind the lowest part of the hock joint, generally causing lameness.
   James Law.
   
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   Curb bit, a stiff bit having branches by which a leverage is obtained upon the jaws of horse. Knight. -- Curb pins (Horology), the pins on the regulator which restrain the hairspring. -- Curb plate (Arch.), a plate serving the purpose of a curb. -- Deck curb. See under Deck.
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