curb

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A concrete border or row of joined stones forming part of a gutter along the edge of a street.
2. n. An enclosing framework, such as that around a skylight.
3. n. A raised margin along an edge used to confine or strengthen.
4. n. Something that checks or restrains: High interest rates put a curb on spending.
5. n. A chain or strap that passes under a horse's lower jaw and serves in conjunction with the bit to restrain the horse.
6. n. A market, originally on a street or sidewalk, for trading securities that are not listed on a stock exchange.
7. v. To check, restrain, or control as if with a curb; rein in. See Synonyms at restrain.
8. v. To lead (a dog) off the sidewalk into the gutter so that it can excrete waste.
9. v. To furnish with a curb.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. Bent; curved; arched.
2. n. A hard and callous swelling on various parts of a horse's leg, as the hinder part of the hock, the inside of the hoof, beneath the elbow of the hoof, etc.
3. To bend; curve.
4. To bend to one's will; check; restrain; hold in check; control; keep in subjection: as, to curb the passions.
5. To restrain or control with a curb; guide and manage with the reins.
6. To strengthen or defend by a curb: as, to curb a well or a bank of earth.
7. To bend; crouch.
8. n. That which checks, restrains, or holds back; restraint; check; control.
9. n. Specifically A chain or strap attached to the upper ends of the branches of the bit of a bridle, and passing under the horse's lower jaw, used chiefly in controlling an unruly or high-spirited horse. The curb-rein is attached to the lower ends of the fauces, and when it is pulled the curb is pressed forward against the horse's jaw with a tendency to break it if the pressure is great. See cut under harness.
10. n. A line of joined stones set upright at the outer edge of a walk, or at one of the edges of a street or road, forming the inner side of a gutter; a row of curbstones.
11. n. In mech.: A breast-wall or retaining-wall erected to support a bank of earth. A casing of stone, wood, brick, or iron, built inside a well that is being sunk, or the framework above and around a well. A boarded structure used to contain concrete until it hardens into a pier or foundation. The outer casing of a turbine-wheel. A curved shrouding which confines the water against the floats or buckets of a scoop-wheel or breast-wheel. The wall-plate at the springing of a dome. The wall-plate on the top of the permanent part of a windmill, on which the cap rotates as the wind veers. An inclined circular plate placed round the edge of a kettle to prevent the contents from boiling over.
12. n. Same as crib, 11.

Wiktionary

1. n. North America A row of concrete along the edge of a road; a kerb (UK)
2. n. A raised margin along the edge of something, as a strengthening.
3. n. Something that checks or restrains.
4. n. A riding or driving bit for a horse that has rein action which amplifies the pressure in the mouth by leverage advantage placing pressure on the poll via the crown piece of the bridle and chin groove via a curb chain.
5. n. A sidewalk, covered or partially enclosed, bordering the airport terminal road system with an adjacent paved areas to permit vehicles to off-load or load passengers.
6. v. To check, restrain or control.
7. v. To rein in.
8. v. To furnish with a curb.
9. v. To force to "bite the curb" (hit the pavement curb); see curb stomp.
10. v. To damage vehicle wheels or tires by running into or over a pavement curb.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. obsolete To bend or curve.
2. v. To guide and manage, or restrain, as with a curb; to bend to one's will; to subject; to subdue; to restrain; to confine; to keep in check.
3. v. To furnish with a curb, as a well; also, to restrain by a curb, as a bank of earth.
4. v. obsolete To bend; to crouch; to cringe.
5. n. That which curbs, restrains, or subdues; a check or hindrance; esp., a chain or strap attached to the upper part of the branches of a bit, and capable of being drawn tightly against the lower jaw of the horse.
6. n. (Arch.) An assemblage of three or more pieces of timber, or a metal member, forming a frame around an opening, and serving to maintain the integrity of that opening; also, a ring of stone serving a similar purpose, as at the eye of a dome.
7. n. A frame or wall round the mouth of a well; also, a frame within a well to prevent the earth caving in.
8. n. A curbstone.
9. n. (Far.) A swelling on the back part of the hind leg of a horse, just behind the lowest part of the hock joint, generally causing lameness.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a stock exchange in New York
2. v. to put down by force or authority
3. v. place restrictions on
4. n. an edge between a sidewalk and a roadway consisting of a line of curbstones (usually forming part of a gutter)
5. n. the act of restraining power or action or limiting excess
6. n. a horse's bit with an attached chain or strap to check the horse
7. v. lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits
8. v. keep to the curb