curbstone

American

[kurb-stohn] / ˈkɜrbˌstoʊn /

British, kerbstone

noun

one of the stones, or a range of stones, forming a curb, as along a street.

curbstone British

/ ˈkɜːbˌstəʊn /

noun

the US spelling of kerbstone

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of curbstone

First recorded in 1785–95; curb + stone

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In our tests, the Chef’sChoice ProntoPro 4643 took seriously dull blades—we ran them against a chunk of concrete curbstone until they were all but useless—to tomato-filleting sharpness in less than a minute.

From Slate • Oct. 11, 2018

To ensure truly, appallingly dull blades, we ground their edges repeatedly against a piece of concrete curbstone.

From Slate • Oct. 11, 2018

Mosler's most promising new idea is its "Snorkel Auto-Teller" for curbstone banking.

From Time Magazine Archive

Within the curbstone control room, nine shirtsleeved men were wedged into a maze of apparatus like submariners at battle stations, lit by little more than the flicker of eight TV monitoring screens.

From Time Magazine Archive

It bunches on the curbstone, wrists crossed, and hides its smile under a wide-brim hat.

From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023