curtain
cur·tain/ˈkɜɹt(ə)n/noun, verb
curtain is spelled C-U-R-T-A-I-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables (cur·tain). It appears 7.2 times per million words in written English, the 8,784th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, curtain means “A piece of cloth covering a window, bed, etc. to offer privacy and keep out light” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of curtain is curtains.
How many letters and syllables are in curtain?
| Letters | 7: C-U-R-T-A-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: cur·tain |
| In writing | 7.2 times per million words; the 8,784th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is curtain?
Curtain appears 7.2 times per million words in written English, the 8,784th 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 curtain?
- UK /ˈkɜːtn̩/
- US /ˈkɜɹt(ə)n/
- US [ˈkʰɜɹʔn̩]
Curtain has 2 syllables, split cur·tain in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-curtain.ogg, En-us-curtain.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with curtain
Sounds like: Kirton (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of curtain
- curtains plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- curtaining participle, present
- curtained participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does curtain mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A piece of cloth covering a window, bed, etc. to offer privacy and keep out light.
He drew the curtains at 11:00pm before falling asleep.
- 2
A similar piece of cloth that separates the audience and the stage in a theater.
- 3
The beginning of a show; the moment the curtain rises.
He took so long to shave his head that we arrived 45 minutes after curtain and were denied late entry.
- 4
The flat area of wall which connects two bastions or towers; the main area of a fortified wall.
Captain Rense, beleagring the Citie of Errona for us, […] caused a forcible mine to be wrought under a great curtine of the walles […].
- 5
Death, final curtain.
- 6
That part of a wall of a building which is between two pavilions, towers, etc.
- 7
derogatoryobsoleteA flag; an ensign.
- 8
The uninterrupted stream of fluid that falls onto a moving substrate in the process of curtain coating.
verb
- 1
To cover (a window) with a curtain; to hang curtains.
- 2
To hide, cover or separate as if by a curtain.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Curtain in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rideau |
| German | Vorhang, Gardine |
| Portuguese | cortina , cobrir com cortina, acortinar, encortinar |
| Spanish | cortina , telón |
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 curtain come from?
Inherited from Middle English curtine, from Old French cortine, from Late Latin cōrtīna (“curtain”), a calque from Ancient Greek.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).