purl

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈpɜːrl/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/pɝl/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(pûrl)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
purl1 /pɜrl/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  • Clothing, Textilesa basic stitch in knitting, the reverse of the knit.

  • v. 
      1. Clothingto knit with a purl stitch: [+ object]purl two rows.[no object]learning to purl.

    WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
    purl1  (pûrl),USA pronunciation v.t., v.i. 
    1. Clothing, Textilesto knit with a reverse stitch.
    2. Clothing, Textilesto finish with loops or a looped edging.

    n. 
    1. Clothing, Textilesa basic stitch in knitting, the reverse of the knit, formed by pulling a loop of the working yarn back through an existing stitch and then slipping that stitch off the needle. Cf. knit (def. 11).
    2. Clothing, Textilesone of a series of small loops along the edge of lace braid.
    3. Textiles, Clothingthread made of twisted gold or silver wire.
    Also, pearl. 
    • variant of obsolete or dialect, dialectal pirl to twist (threads, etc.) into a cord 1520–30

    purl2  (pûrl),USA pronunciation v.i. 
    1. to flow with curling or rippling motion, as a shallow stream does over stones.
    2. to flow with a murmuring sound.
    3. to pass in a manner or with a sound likened to this.

    n. 
    1. the action or sound of purling.
    2. a circle or curl made by the motion of water;
      ripple;
      eddy.
    • 1545–55; origin, originally uncertain; akin to Norwegian purla to bubble up, gush

    Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
    purl / pɜːl/
    1. Also called: purl stitch a knitting stitch made by doing a plain stitch backwards
    2. a decorative border, as of lace
    3. gold or silver wire thread
    1. to knit (a row or garment) in purl stitch
    2. to edge (something) with a purl

    Also (for senses 2, 3, 5): pearl Etymology: 16th Century: from dialect pirl to twist into a cord
    purl / pɜːl/
    1. (intransitive) (of a stream, etc) to flow with a gentle curling or rippling movement and a murmuring sound
    1. a curling movement of water; eddy
    2. a murmuring sound, as of a shallow stream
    Etymology: 16th Century: related to Norwegian purla to bubble
    'purl' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

    Forum discussions with the word(s) "purl" in the title:


    Look up "purl" at Merriam-Webster
    Look up "purl" at dictionary.com
    • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

    In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

    Advertisements
    Advertisements
    Report an inappropriate ad.
    WordReference.com
    WORD OF THE DAY
    GET THE DAILY EMAIL!