curfew
/ˈkɝ.fju/noun
curfew is spelled C-U-R-F-E-W: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, curfew means “Any regulation requiring people to be off the streets and in their homes by a certain time” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of curfew is curfews.
How many letters and syllables are in curfew?
| Letters | 6: C-U-R-F-E-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.3 times per million words; the 17,813th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is curfew?
Curfew appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th 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 curfew?
- UK /ˈkɜː.fjuː/
- US /ˈkɝ.fju/
Curfew has 2 syllables (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-curfew.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of curfew
- curfews plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does curfew mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any regulation requiring people to be off the streets and in their homes by a certain time.
The city has been reported calm after a curfew was imposed.
- 2
A regulation requiring loud or disruptive activities such as concerts and sporting events to end by a certain time.
- 3
The time when such restriction begins.
- 4
A signal indicating this time.
- 5
A fireplace accessory designed to bank a fire by completely covering the embers.
- 6
A regulation in feudal Europe by which fires had to be covered up or put out at a certain fixed time in the evening, marked by the ringing of an evening bell.
- 7
The evening bell, which continued to be rung in many towns after the regulation itself became obsolete.
I have my lodging neere unto a tower, where both evening and morning a very great bell doth chime Ave marie and Cover-few, which jangling doth even make the tower to shake […].
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Curfew in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | couvre-feu |
| German | Ausgangssperre, Ausgehverbot , Sperrstunde , Zapfenstreich , Abendläuten |
| Portuguese | toque de recolher |
| Spanish | toque de queda, cubrefuego |
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 curfew come from?
From Middle English curfu, from Old French cuevre-fu (French couvre-feu), from the imperative of covrir (“to cover”) + fu (“fire”). Compare kerchief.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).