How to Use curtsy in a Sentence

curtsy

1 of 2 noun
  • Meghan has had months of practice to get her curtsy down pat.
    — Jodi Guglielmi, PEOPLE.com, 12 June 2018
  • For men this is a neck bow (from the head only) whilst women do a small curtsy.
    — Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026
  • For men this is a neck bow (from the head only) whilst women do a small curtsy.
    — Town & Country, 4 Nov. 2022
  • For men, this is a neck bow (from the head only) whilst women do a small curtsy.
    — Stephanie Petit, Peoplemag, 19 July 2023
  • 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
  • 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
  • Target your thighs all over by doing curtsy lunges, sumo squats, and goblet squats.
    — Women's Health, 1 June 2023
  • While royals are often greeted with curtsies, the move didn't break any rules.
    — Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
  • 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
  • Monroe then took the Queen's hand and dipped into the perfect curtsy.
    — Erin Hill, PEOPLE.com, 5 May 2022
  • Click ahead to see all the photos of the most iconic curtsies in royal history.
    — Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 4 May 2023
  • And how to execute the perfect curtsy?
    — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 19 June 2026
  • That means family members must show her the formal respect of bows and curtsies.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 2 Sep. 2025
  • The rules for bows and curtsies change when HRH titles are involved.
    — Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 20 Apr. 2023
  • Not all bows and curtsies But the visit may not all be royal- and heritage-themed niceties, bows and curtsies.
    — Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2025
  • Kate, seeing the Queen, gave her mother-in-law a dutiful curtsy.
    — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, 26 Dec. 2019
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • The lunges in today's workout include reverse lunges and a curtsy lunge to lateral lunge.
    — Amy Eisinger, M.a., SELF, 31 Dec. 2019
  • 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
  • At just 4 years old, Princess Charlotte has mastered her royal curtsy!
    — Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE.com, 26 Dec. 2019
  • Then, keeping your shoulders stacked over your hips, bend both knees 90 degrees to lower into a curtsy squat.
    — Elizabeth Narins, Cosmopolitan, 28 June 2016
  • 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
  • Scobie explained the ins and outs of royal curtsy rules in a new interview with Katie Couric.
    — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, 4 Aug. 2019
  • Curtsy lunge Start from standing, step one leg behind your other leg and squat, as if performing a curtsy.
    — Julie Mazziotta, PEOPLE.com, 5 Sep. 2017
  • 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
  • First spotted by Elle, cameras caught the Duchess giving the birthday girl a perfect curtsy and big smile.
    — Lindsay Schallon, Glamour, 21 Apr. 2019
  • But perhaps the sweetest moment of all was when Charlotte mimicked her mother's curtsy.
    — Amy MacKelden, Harper's BAZAAR, 26 Dec. 2019
  • Enter Ego Nwodim offering her services with a curtsy to Page.
    — Erin Jensen, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2021

curtsy

2 of 2 verb
  • Meghan couldn't curtsy backwards across the moat fast enough.
    — Raven Smith, Vogue, 20 Aug. 2020
  • Royals are also known to bow or curtsy to the monarch on their wedding day.
    — Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 20 Apr. 2023
  • Also, at the sight of any royalties, be ready to curtsy or bow.
    — Jessica Pan, The Cut, 17 May 2018
  • 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
  • But both curtsy and bow right now to the grip the Canes have on South Florida.
    — Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2025
  • Even members of the royal family with titles like prince and princess are known to bow or curtsy to greet the monarch and their spouse.
    — Helen Murphy, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
  • Later on in the morning she was spotted curtsying as her great-grandmother passed by.
    — Natasha Reda, Glamour, 25 Dec. 2019
  • As the crowd cheered, Briggs said, the chief put two $1 bills in the officer’s pockets then bowed or curtsied.
    — Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
  • 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
  • Speaking of curtsies, were curtsies in the 1920s different from the way people curtsy now?
    — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, 21 Sep. 2019
  • 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
  • Traditionally, women curtsy while men bow their heads when meeting a member of the royal family.
    — Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE, 15 June 2026
  • 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
  • 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
  • Members of the royal family, however, have explicit rules dictating who curtsies to whom.
    — Malia Wollan, New York Times, 9 May 2018
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Rather than curtsy or bow as is tradition when meeting royalty, Vegas couldn't contain her excitement, excitedly hopping up to greet both the King and his sister.
    — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 12 May 2026
  • Curtsies are a gesture of respect within the royal family, and Princess Kate separately curtsied to the King and Queen to show respect for both of them.
    — Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 3 Dec. 2025
  • 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
  • However, the second time around, people are noting that there’s actually no official rule about curtsying or bowing when meeting members of the British royal family.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 24 Sep. 2025
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • During the greetings, some observers noted that the president, 79, did not bow and the first lady, 55, did not curtsy while shaking hands with Charles and Camilla, as well William and Kate.
    — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2025
  • The British royals, even those with titles, are known to bow or curtsy to the monarch and consort — even Prince William and Prince Harry have been seen bowing to their father, King Charles, since his accession.
    — Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 3 June 2026
  • All members of the British royal family, including those with His/Her Royal Highness (HRH) styling, are known to bow or curtsy to the monarch and his wife when greeting them.
    — Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE, 15 June 2026

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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