Words with Different Meanings
In a series of posts Virtus will provide tips and advice covering many aspects of publishing. This series will be an ongoing selection of language tips, covering areas that many authors find difficult or confusing. These will be short and to the point.
Virtus Publishing Language Tip #24: Words with Different Meanings
In 2026 we’ll be periodically focusing on confusion over different words, not only in terms of spelling, but in terms of meaning.
In a previous post, we discussed differences in English usage in different parts of the world (US, UK, & Australian English).
One of the examples we used was “curb” versus “kerb.” We said that “the raised area at the edge of the street that separates the road from the sidewalk is called a kerb. In the United States this would be known as a curb.”
There’s often additional confusion concerning the US usage of “curb.” The photo above shows a “tree pit,” which is a small flowerbed around a tree. These are very common in New York. But the sign actually illustrates another meaning of the word “curb,” which causes this confusion.
Let’s look at the fifth definition of curb when used as a noun in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary:
curb
noun
5: a raised edge or margin: a wall or casing to strengthen or confine
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This is the usage in this photo, taken in London: UK speakers would call the border area or edging a “kerb,” while I would call it a “curb.”
Now here, the red arrows point to the curb at this location in the New York photo:
Is this the same usage? Yes and no, actually.
Let’s look at the second definition of curb when used as a verb in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary:
curb
transitive verb
2 b : to restrain, abate, or moderate the course or force of : guide, control, manage
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This photo illustrates that definition:
These “Curb Your Dog” signs have existed in New York for decades. The original meaning as I learned it (as a lifelong dog walker) was a simple instruction to restrain your dog from “doing its business” on the sidewalk or in the flowerbed. This relates to definition 2b shown above: “to restrain, abate, or moderate the course or force of… .”
Here’s where it gets tricky. I have known many people over the years who believed that this was instruction to drag your dog over to “the curb”: they were thinking strictly in terms of the noun.
Something I have noted over many years I have been an editor is the way in which words and meanings may change or evolve over time.
This brings us to the fifth definition of curb when used as a verb in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary:
5 : to lead (a dog) to the gutter or other suitable place for defecation
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Does this definition refer to “curb” as a noun (a place)? Or as a verb (the act of restraining, guiding, managing)?
My belief is the latter, but I would welcome your views on this.
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