1
general::
curl
adjectives
soft/loose curls
(= gentle curves )
• long brown hair in soft curls
tight curls
(= curves that are very close together )
• Her dark hair was arranged in tight curls.
natural curls
• You're lucky if you have natural curls.
a stray/wayward curl
(= hanging in an untidy way )
• Emily pushed back a stray curl.
golden/dark/black etc curls
• a little boy with a tangle of blond curls
verbs
curls fall/tumble
(= hang down )
• The child's golden curls fell around her shoulders.
phrases
a mass/mop of curls
(= a lot of curls )
• a gorgeous Italian man with a mass of dark curls
a tangle of curls
(= curls that are not neatly combed )
• a boy with a tangle of brown curls
transnet.ir
2
general::
noun piece of hair ADJ. natural | soft | tight | corkscrew, spiral | auburn, blonde, dark, etc. | natural | stray She pushed a stray curl away from her eyes. | tangled, tumbling, unruly, untamed, wayward She smoothed down her tangled curls. | damp VERB + CURL press/push/stroke back, smooth back/down | ruffle, run your fingers through | tease He carefully teased his curls into place. | shake She shook her dark curls sadly. CURL + VERB fall, tumble Her auburn curls tumbled about her face. | bounce | frame sth Her face was framed by a mop of black curls. PREP. in ~s His hair spilled in curls over his forehead. | through the/your ~s She raked a comb through her wayward curls. PHRASES a cascade/mass/mop of curls Her hair was styled into a cascade of spiral curls. | lose its curl Her hair lost its curl as she got older. sth with a curved round shape ADJ. faint, little, slight He acknowledged her remark with a faint curl of his lips. PREP. ~ of a curl of smoke, verb ADV. tightly | slightly | up She curled her legs up under her. PREP. around/round His fingers curled tightly round the steering wheel. | from Smoke was curling up from the chimney. | into The cat curled into a ball and fell asleep. PHRASES be/lie/sit curled up She was lying curled up on her bed. | curl (up) at the edges The photograph was brown and curling at the edges.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
3
general::
curl up
POSITION
1. to sit or lie in a position with your arms and legs close to your body
• She curled up on the sofa to watch TV., curl up
EDGES
2. If something flat, such as paper, curls up, the edges start to curve up.
Cambridge-Phrasal Verbs