How to Use curtsy in a Sentence
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Kick your right leg off to the right side and go back to the curtsy lunge and do the same on the reverse side.
—Nicole Saunders, Billboard, 20 July 2017
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Meghan has had months of practice to get her curtsy down pat.
—Jodi Guglielmi, PEOPLE.com, 12 June 2018
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Do a squat, then a reverse curtsy lunge with your left leg.
—Joanne Kempinger Demski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10 May 2017
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For men, that could be a gentle dip of the head, while women can opt for a small curtsy.
—Natasha Bertrand, CNN, 11 Aug. 2021
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For men this is a neck bow (from the head only) whilst women do a small curtsy.
—Town & Country, 4 Nov. 2022
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For men, this is a neck bow (from the head only) whilst women do a small curtsy.
—Stephanie Petit, Peoplemag, 19 July 2023
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The rules for bows and curtsies change when HRH titles are involved.
—Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 20 Apr. 2023
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Monroe then took the Queen's hand and dipped into the perfect curtsy.
—Erin Hill, PEOPLE.com, 5 May 2022
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Upon greeting the Queen, Kate leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek and then curtsied (see pictures of the cheek kiss and curtsy here).
—Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, 25 May 2019
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This comes on the heels of her high-profile thumbs-down vote on a minimum-wage vote, along with a curtsy.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 16 June 2021
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In the clip, a very pregnant Parrish, who is in her third trimester, does curtsy lunges, bicep curls, bar squats and bar pushups.
—Karen Mizoguchi, PEOPLE.com, 24 Oct. 2017
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After dipping into a curtsy to greet him, the Spice Girls member had a chat with the royal.
—Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE.com, 5 May 2022
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Click ahead to see all the photos of the most iconic curtsies in royal history.
—Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 4 May 2023
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The duchesses also gave the Queen a respectful greeting—with two curtsies rather than a hug and kiss.
—Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, 11 Mar. 2019
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Weinberg faces the dancers with her back to the mirror and demonstrates a sweeping arm motion and a dip, almost a curtsy.
—Marcia Luttrell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Apr. 2023
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Scobie explained the ins and outs of royal curtsy rules in a new interview with Katie Couric.
—Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, 4 Aug. 2019
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Fergie performed a deep curtsy to Queen Elizabeth, and also dipped her head and raised her hand in the air.
—Amy MacKelden, Harper's BAZAAR, 22 June 2019
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First spotted by Elle, cameras caught the Duchess giving the birthday girl a perfect curtsy and big smile.
—Lindsay Schallon, Glamour, 21 Apr. 2019
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Target your thighs all over by doing curtsy lunges, sumo squats, and goblet squats.
—Women's Health, 1 June 2023
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Fortunately, Meghan got a crash course from Harry and Fergie, and made it through the curtsy.
—Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, 8 Mar. 2021
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When the Queen was seen walking through the doors of the abbey, Meghan (in white) was seen lowering herself into a curtsy, then Kate (in red) followed.
—Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, 11 Mar. 2019
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Kate, seeing the Queen, gave her mother-in-law a dutiful curtsy.
—Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, 26 Dec. 2019
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The curtsy is an iconic moment in the first film of the franchise and marks one of Katniss’ earliest signs of rebellion.
—Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
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And Fergie has made her respect for the monarch known: she has been known to do a deep curtsy upon the Queen's arrival at events like Royal Ascot.
—Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE.com, 16 Aug. 2021
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For men, that means greeting a royal with a bow, and for women, a small curtsy, according to the Royal household.
—Maggie Maloney, Town & Country, 18 Jan. 2018
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Set your hips back and bend your knees to do a small squat, then bring your right foot diagonally behind your left foot for a curtsy squat.
—Alexa Tucker, SELF, 24 Oct. 2017
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After dipping into a curtsy to greet him, the Spice Girls member approached Prince William to receive her award.
—Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE.com, 4 May 2022
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At just 4 years old, Princess Charlotte has mastered her royal curtsy!
—Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE.com, 26 Dec. 2019
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The lunges in today's workout include reverse lunges and a curtsy lunge to lateral lunge.
—Amy Eisinger, M.a., SELF, 31 Dec. 2019
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And this morning, the future royal added another milestone to that list: Markle received a curtsy for the first time in public.
—Maggie Maloney, Town & Country, 18 Jan. 2018
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Meghan couldn't curtsy backwards across the moat fast enough.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 20 Aug. 2020
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Whether or not players will bow or curtsy to the Prince of Wales, then, remains to be seen.
—Town & Country, 13 July 2023
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The Trumps did not appear to bow and curtsy upon greeting the Queen.
—Abby Gardner, Glamour, 13 July 2018
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Kate gave Elizabeth the cheek kiss first and then curtsied.
—Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, 25 May 2019
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Royals are also known to bow or curtsy to the monarch on their wedding day.
—Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 20 Apr. 2023
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Also, at the sight of any royalties, be ready to curtsy or bow.
—Jessica Pan, The Cut, 17 May 2018
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Upon greeting the Queen, Kate leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek and then curtsied (see pictures of the cheek kiss and curtsy here).
—Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, 25 May 2019
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After church, Princess Charlotte made quite the adorable attempt to curtsy on the steps as her great-grandmother, the Queen, drove by.
—Vogue, 25 Dec. 2019
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Speaking of curtsies, were curtsies in the 1920s different from the way people curtsy now?
—Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, 21 Sep. 2019
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Later on in the morning she was spotted curtsying as her great-grandmother passed by.
—Natasha Reda, Glamour, 25 Dec. 2019
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The dance floor was one place where people were allowed to touch, and choreographer Jack Murphy was able to work with the actors on all the movements, right down to instructing the ladies how to curtsy to the Queen.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 30 Mar. 2022
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Princess Charlotte, 8, was captured on video going into a dip as those around her also bowed and curtsied when her grandfather passed by on his way to his seat.
—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 7 May 2023
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So basically: Anyone senior to Harry (like the Queen, for an obvious example), Meghan has to curtsy to, all of the time.
—Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, 4 Aug. 2019
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After curtsying to the monarch during the the royal procession alongside her daughter Princess Beatrice and her ex-husband, the 58-year-old was photographed chatting with the Queen.
—Sam Dangremond, Town & Country, 22 June 2018
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Circuit 3 Lateral lunge to curtsy lunge Perform a lateral lunge to your left, then drive back into a curtsy lunge.
—Health.com, 3 Nov. 2017
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When this happens, all the other female members of the royal family will have to curtsy to them, regardless of whether they were born into the royal family or not.
—Phil Boucher, PEOPLE.com, 17 Dec. 2021
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When meeting the Queen or any member of the royal family, the traditional protocol is for men to bow from the neck only and for women to curtsy, per the royal family’s website.
—Lyndsey Matthews, Cosmopolitan, 14 Feb. 2018
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Per the royal family's handbook, when greeting a member of the royal household (especially the Queen) men are supposed to bow with their neck and women are to politely curtsy.
—Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, 3 Aug. 2018
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Queen Camilla was in attendance at Wimbledon yesterday, but despite her presence in the royal box, tennis players didn't curtsy or bow to her.
—Town & Country, 13 July 2023
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While leaving this afternoon's Commonwealth Day service, Meghan Markle met several adorable children, one of whom gave her a bouquet of flowers and appears to have curtsied while greeting her.
—Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, 12 Mar. 2018
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In a new interview with Katie Couric, royal expert and commentator Omid Scobie broke down the way family hierarchy impacts who curtsies to whom.
—Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, 4 Aug. 2019
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Members of the royal family, however, have explicit rules dictating who curtsies to whom.
—Malia Wollan, New York Times, 9 May 2018
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Harry was spotted adorably prompting Meghan when to curtsy upon his grandmother’s official arrival.
—Jodi Guglielmi, PEOPLE.com, 12 June 2018
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After an all-star showing on Wednesday (accepting flowers, shaking hands, and discretely curtsying), poor Charlotte broke into tears after taking a tumble on the jetway.
—Madeleine Luckel, Vogue, 21 July 2017
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Meghan couldn't curtsy backwards across the moat fast enough.
—Raven Smith, Vogue, 20 Aug. 2020
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Whether or not players will bow or curtsy to the Prince of Wales, then, remains to be seen.
—Town & Country, 13 July 2023
-
The Trumps did not appear to bow and curtsy upon greeting the Queen.
—Abby Gardner, Glamour, 13 July 2018
-
Kate gave Elizabeth the cheek kiss first and then curtsied.
—Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, 25 May 2019
-
Royals are also known to bow or curtsy to the monarch on their wedding day.
—Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 20 Apr. 2023
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Also, at the sight of any royalties, be ready to curtsy or bow.
—Jessica Pan, The Cut, 17 May 2018
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'curtsy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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