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1. : the sounding of a bell at evening. 2. a. : a regulation enjoining the withdrawal of usually specified persons (such as juveniles or military personnel) from the streets or the closing of business establishments or places of assembly at a stated hour. The city ordered a curfew to prevent further rioting. b.
curfew. noun [ C or U ] uk / ˈkɜː.fjuː / us / ˈkɝː.fjuː /. Add to word list. Add to word list. a rule that everyone must stay at home between particular times, usually at night, especially during a war or a period of political trouble: a midnight curfew.
noun [ C or U ] us / ˈkɝː.fjuː / uk / ˈkɜː.fjuː / Add to word list. a rule that everyone must stay home between particular times, usually at night, especially during a war or a period of political trouble: a midnight curfew. impose a curfew Stores, offices, and schools shut down, and the government imposed a curfew.
A curfew is an order that imposes certain regulations during specified hours. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to remain indoors during the evening and nighttime hours. Such an order is most often issued by public authorities, but may also be given by the owner of a house to those living in the household.
(in medieval Europe) the ringing of a bell at a fixed hour in the evening as a signal for covering or extinguishing fires. a metal cover for shielding a banked or unattended fire. curfew. / ˈkɜːfjuː / noun. an official regulation setting restrictions on movement, esp after a specific time at night. the time set as a deadline by such a regulation.
What to Know. A curfew today is a restriction which limits a group of people from being outside their homes past a certain time. The original use of the word dates back to the 14th century, where a curfew was an evening bell which warned people to cover their fires for the night, to protect their homes (and their neighbor's homes) from accidents.
/ˈkɜːfjuː/ /ˈkɜːrfjuː/ [countable, uncountable] a law that says that people must not go outside after a particular time at night until the morning; the time after which nobody must go outside. The army imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew. You must get home before curfew. Collocations War and peace. Extra Examples. Topics War and conflict c1.
