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PlainSpell

curb

/kɝb/noun, verb

curb is spelled C-U-R-B: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 6.2 times per million words in written English, the 9,735th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “curb vs kerb” about 140 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, curb means “A concrete margin along the edge of a road; a kerb (UK, Australia, New Zealand)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of curb is curbs.

How many letters and syllables are in curb?

Letters4: C-U-R-B
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing6.2 times per million words; the 9,735th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Sounds like
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is curb?

Curb appears 6.2 times per million words in written English, the 9,735th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce curb?

  • US /kɝb/
  • UK /kɜːb/

Curb has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-curb.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with curb

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

curb vs kerb140 G

Sounds like: kerb (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Also written: curb stomp, kerb.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with curb?

8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as curb from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹb/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of curb

  • curbs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • kerb UK
  • curbing participle, present
  • curbed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does curb mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    USA concrete margin along the edge of a road; a kerb (UK, Australia, New Zealand).

  2. 2

    USA raised margin along the edge of something, such as a well or the eye of a dome, as a strengthening.

  3. 3

    USSomething that checks or restrains; a restraint.

  4. 4

    USA riding or driving bit for a horse that has rein action which amplifies the pressure in the mouth by leverage advantage placing pressure on the poll by means of the crown piece of the bridle and chin groove by means of a curb chain.

  5. 5

    CanadaUSA sidewalk, covered or partially enclosed, bordering the airport terminal road system with adjacent paved areas to permit vehicles to off-load or load passengers.

  6. 6

    USA swelling on the back part of the hind leg of a horse, just behind the lowest part of the hock joint, generally causing lameness.

verb

  1. 1

    USTo check, restrain or control.

    Curb your dog

  2. 2

    USTo rein in.

  3. 3

    USTo furnish (a well etc.) with a curb; to restrain (a bank of earth, etc.) by a curb.

  4. 4

    USslangEllipsis of curb stomp.

  5. 5

    USTo bring to a stop beside a curb.

  6. 6

    USTo damage vehicle wheels or tires by running into or over a pavement curb.

  7. 7

    USTo bend or curve.

  8. 8

    USTo crouch; to cringe.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Curb in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchbordure, bordure du trottoir (concrete along the edge of a road)
GermanBordstein, Randstein, Bordkante, Kantstein, Kante, Steinrand (concrete along the edge of a road)
Portuguesemeio-fio, lancil, guia (concrete along the edge of a road), freio (something that checks or restrains)
Spanishbordillo, sardinel (concrete along the edge of a road), freno, restricción (something that checks or restrains)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does curb come from?

From Middle French courbe (“curve, curved object”), from Latin curvus (“bent, crooked, curved”). Doublet of curve.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after curb