Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words
1

curvet

play
noun cur·vet \ (ˌ)kər-ˈvet \

Definition of curvet

:a prancing leap of a horse in which the hind legs are raised just before the forelegs touch the ground

See curvet defined for kids

Explore Merriam-Webster

alt-59c2cb9e9ef54
Trending: Ivanka: "An 'Otherwise' Incredible Day"
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
image536372841
Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes
stylized-drawing-of-woman-pole-vaulting-across-gap-to-get-trophy
Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

Origin and Etymology of curvet

Italian corvetta, from Middle French courbette, from courber to curve, from Latin curvare

2

curvet

verb

Definition of curvet

curvetted or curveted; curvetting or curveting
intransitive verb
:to make a curvet; also :prance, caper

First Known Use of curvet

1592

Learn More about curvet

  1. See words that rhyme with curvet

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up curvet? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

holus-bolus

play

all at once

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. otherwise "in other respects"

  2. federalism Graham says bill gives power to states

  3. bodega "Don’t mess with the beloved bodega."

  4. carceral Of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison

  5. allegory No spoilers!

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

curvet

Test Your Vocabulary

Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

  • stylized-drawing-of-woman-pole-vaulting-across-gap-to-get-trophy
  • Which is a synonym of fuliginous?
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Citation

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-59c2960017c94
The Ambiguity of Pushing 'Up' and 'Back'

When you push a meeting, where does it go?

image536372841
Silent Letters

When each letter can be seen but not heard

alt-59c17b8172892
'So Long': A Common But Mysterious Goodbye

Its origins are surprisingly murky.

alt-59c13729150dc
"Immune to" or "Immune from"?

Nobody is immune to this question.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

stylized-drawing-of-woman-pole-vaulting-across-gap-to-get-trophy
Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

No tricks, just difficult words.

Take the quiz
name-that-color-logo
Name that Color!

NEW! Additional colors! More obscure than before!

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
Citation
Citation

Do you know the person or title these quotes describe?

Play the game