curtcurt /kɜːt $ kɜːrt/ adjective 
Word Origin
With a curt nod, he turned away and sat down. a curt note—curtly adverb—curtness noun [uncountable]
Word OriginWORD ORIGINcurt
ExamplesOrigin:
1300-1400 Latin curtus ‘shortened’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- He responded with a curt, three-sentence letter.
- Her story was sent back with a curt rejection note.
- Polly was curt and businesslike with her clients.
- She answered their questions with a curt "No comment".
- Blanche gave a few more curt television interviews, voicing her horror at the murder and appealing for any information.
- Charman's curt reviews got slightly more excitable as the year drew on.
- His curt tone made her stomach lurch.
- I responded with curt answers tempered with moderate annoyance.
- It was too absurd - the invitation, then this curt dismissal, as if I had exhausted his patience.
- She hadn't missed the sting in the tail in that curt directive.
- The rap on the door was hard and curt.
- This diligence can only be exercised once the curt papers have been served on the debtor.
Longman Language Activatorwhen someone speaks to you in a rude way, using very few words► curt
Collocations replying in very few words in a way that seems rude: · She answered their questions with a curt "No comment".· Polly was curt and businesslike with her clients.· Her story was sent back with a curt rejection note.
► terse a terse message, reply, statement etc uses very few words and is deliberately intended to make people stop speaking to you or asking you questions: · The terse announcement gave no reason for Harris's resignation.· "We're in the process of negotiations," Russo said in a terse statement to reporters.
► brusque using few words and saying directly what you think, because that is the way you usually speak, even though it often seems rude to other people: · Mathison's brusque style tends to irritate colleagues.· In public he appears brusque and dismissive, but he is in fact a very caring person.
► dismissive treating someone's ideas, suggestions, or problems as if they are not at all important or serious, especially by dealing with them in very few words and then changing the subject: · She was very dismissive when I tried to tell her about my problems at work.dismissive of: · Teenagers who have jobs can be quite dismissive of their peers who don't.
► be short with to speak to someone in a rude way, using very few words, especially because you are angry with them: · I'm sorry if I was short with you, but I was worried about my interview.· She was very short with me. I wonder if I've offended her in some way.
► abrupt seeming rude and unfriendly because you answer questions or talk to someone in a quick, direct way, especially because you do not want to waste time in friendly conversation: · "It won't work," Mitchell says in his abrupt, no-nonsense style.· His new boss was abrupt and didn't seem interested in his proposals.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN► nod
using very few words in a way that seems rude SYN abrupt: · With a curt nod he beckoned the waiter, settled the bill, ushered her out into the silky darkness.· He thanks Paul with a curt nod.· He looked at me as though he had seen me somewhere before, but I passed by with a curt nod.· When the kitchen had been restored to its former tidiness, he gave her a curt nod, and walked out.· The nearest guard glanced at it, then ushered him through with a curt nod of his head.· On the sixth day, after a curt nod from the chef, Mark realised he must be doing something half-right.· Give what I hope is curt nod, though double chins seem to go on flapping for ever.· He gave a quick, curt nod to the soldiers on duty and turned on to the Al Ain road.
With a curt nod, he turned away and sat down. a curt note—curtly adverb—curtness noun [uncountable]