curfew

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العربية الفصحى
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/ˈkɝː.fjuː/
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A limit on being out after a set hour, now usually a public order or home rule, with an older sense of the evening bell that once told households to cover their fires.
Practice using curfew in conversation until it feels natural

Examples

  • The village curfew once rang at eight to warn families to cover their fires.
  • After the curfew, households banked their hearths for the night.
  • My parents gave me an 11 p.m. curfew on weekends.
  • Old records mention the curfew bell beside the church tower.
  • The town kept ringing the curfew long after the fire rule faded.

Similar words

regulation
signal
stay-at-home order
nighttime restriction
house rule
fire bell
home time
evening bell
check-in time
warning bell

Meanings

Public movement restriction

noun
legal
neutral
An official rule, and the hours it covers, that keeps people off streets or out of public places at set times, usually at night.

Examples

  • The city imposed a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. after the unrest.
  • Residents needed permits to travel during the curfew.
  • The governor lifted the curfew once the emergency passed.
  • Police reported several curfew violations downtown.
  • The airport stayed open, but nearby streets were under curfew.
  • A dusk-to-dawn curfew covered the whole district.
  • Shops closed early so staff could get home before the curfew.

Similar words

movement restriction
stay-at-home order
nighttime restriction
public order
ban
regulation

Home-by deadline

noun
family
neutral
A set time when a child, student, guest, or member must be home or back in an approved place.

Examples

  • My parents gave me an 11 p.m. curfew on weekends.
  • The dorm has a strict curfew during orientation week.
  • She missed her curfew by twenty minutes.
  • The coach set a midnight curfew before the final.
  • Teenagers often argue about whether a curfew is fair.
  • He called home because traffic might make him break curfew.
  • The camp curfew sends everyone back to their cabins by ten.

Similar words

home time
time limit
deadline
house rule
check-in time

Evening bell or fire rule

noun
history
archaic
An evening bell, signal, or old regulation that told households to cover or extinguish fires for the night.

Examples

  • The village curfew once rang at eight to warn families to cover their fires.
  • Old records mention the curfew bell beside the church tower.
  • The medieval curfew was meant to reduce the risk of nighttime fires.
  • After the curfew, households banked their hearths for the night.
  • The town kept ringing the curfew long after the fire rule faded.
  • A museum label explains how the curfew gave the modern word its name.
  • The curfew sounded across the walls as the gates were closed.

Similar words

evening bell
warning bell
fire bell
signal

Etymology

From Middle English curfeu, from Anglo-French coverfeu, literally “cover fire”, the signal to bank or extinguish hearth fires at night.

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