curtail

Plural: curtails

Verb

Verb Forms: curtailed, curtailing, curtails

To reduce in extent or quantity; to cut short.
place restrictions on
- "curtail drinking in school"
terminate or abbreviate before its intended or proper end or its full extent
- "Personal freedom is curtailed in many countries"
To cut short the tail of (an animal).
To shorten or abridge the duration of; to bring an end to; to truncate.
To limit or restrict; to keep in check.

Noun

A scroll termination, as of a step, etc.

Examples

Curtailing horses procured long horse-hair.
The time limit forced him to CURTAIL his contemplation and make a quick play.
When the audience grew restless, the speaker curtailed her speech.

Origin / Etymology

Alteration of curtal, from Old French courtault (“which has been shortened”), itself from court (“short”) (from Latin curtus) + -ault

Synonyms

clip, curb, cut back, cut short, restrict, abbreviate, behedge, control, crop, dock, limit, restrain, shorten

Scrabble Score: 9

curtail: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
curtail: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
curtail: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 12

curtail: valid Words With Friends Word