To bring your body into a rounded, compact position, or to become bent and shriveled.
To make your body into a small, rounded shape, like a ball, especially to relax or stay warm.
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To sit or lie down in a comfortable rounded position with your knees drawn up.
"She curled up on the sofa with a mug of tea and a good novel."
I just want to curl up and read a good book.
— Commonly attributed as a cultural idiom; widely used in lifestyle media and interviews.
Of a flat object such as a leaf or piece of paper, to bend or shrivel at the edges.
"The old pages of the diary had curled up at the corners from years of damp."
To react with intense embarrassment or shame (often in the phrase 'curl up and die').
"When she mispronounced the director's name in front of everyone, she wanted to curl up and die."
To curl (bend into a curve) upward or inward on oneself.
To make your body into a small, rounded shape, like a ball, especially to relax or stay warm.
Very common in everyday English. Often used with 'on the sofa', 'in bed', 'by the fire'. Also used for inanimate objects (leaves, paper) that bend inward at the edges. A warm, cozy connotation when used of people.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "curl up" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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