curtail

verb

cur·​tail (ˌ)kər-ˈtāl 

curtailed; curtailing; curtails

transitive verb

: to make less by or as if by cutting off or away some part

curtail the power of the executive branch

curtail inflation

Some school activities are being curtailed due to a lack of funds.

curtailer

(ˌ)kər-ˈtā-lər 

noun

Synonyms of curtail

• shorten

Choose the Right Synonym for curtail

shorten, curtail, abbreviate, abridge, retrench mean to reduce in extent.

shorten implies reduction in length or duration.

shorten a speech

curtail adds an implication of cutting that in some way deprives of completeness or adequacy.

ceremonies curtailed because of rain

abbreviate implies a making shorter usually by omitting some part.

using an abbreviated title

abridge implies a reduction in compass or scope with retention of essential elements and a relative completeness in the result.

the abridged version of the novel

retrench suggests a reduction in extent or costs of something felt to be excessive.

declining business forced the company to retrench

Examples of curtail in a Sentence

The new laws are an effort to curtail illegal drug use.

School activities are being curtailed due to a lack of funds.

Recent Examples on the Web

The elimination of women's studies comes as other universities have curtailed or ended such programs in recent years, including The University of Iowa, Wichita State University in Kansas and the University of California, Santa Cruz. —Elissa Nadworny, NPR, 30 Jan. 2026

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said during the week that his throwing in practice would be curtailed but that his condition improved. —Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 29 Jan. 2026

Surprised, the team performed a sanity check—the researchers calculated heritability in the traditional way for twins born between 1900 and 1935, an era when rapid medical advances steadily curtailed premature death. —Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 29 Jan. 2026

Mobilizing Proxies Over the past two years, Israel has battered Iran’s regional network of proxies, significantly curtailing the regime’s ability to project power beyond its borders. —Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 29 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

by folk etymology from earlier curtal to dock an animal's tail, from curtal, noun, animal with a docked tail, from Middle French courtault — more at curtal

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for curtail

• airmail
• assail
• avail
• bewail
• blackmail
• cattail
• cocktail
• derail
• detail
• dovetail
• email
• entail

Kids Definition

curtail

verb

cur·​tail (ˌ)kər-ˈtā(ə)l 

: to make less by or as if by cutting off part of

curtailer

-ˈtā-lər 

noun

curtailment

-ˈtāl-mənt

noun