curd

IPA/kɜːd/
KK[kˈɚd]IPA/kɜːrd/

curd — noun

1. the thick white lumps that separate from milk after it has gone sour, often pres

1.nounB2
Definition

the thick white lumps that separate from milk after it has gone sour, often pressed afterwards to make cheese.

Example

Rodrigo gently strained the warm curd through a clean cotton cloth.

verb + curd: strain / drain / press the curd

The cheesemaker pressed the soft curd into round wooden moulds overnight.

collocation: press / shape the curd into a mould

Common collocations
  • fresh curd
  • soft curd
  • press the curd
  • strain the curd
  • curds and whey
Synonyms
  • junket

    a sweet milk-based dessert set with rennet; closely related but specifically a dish, not the raw substance.

  • clabber

    regional / older term for naturally soured thick milk; overlaps with curd but is more about the soured milk as a whole.

Antonyms
  • whey

    the watery liquid left behind after the milk solids separate; the natural opposite in cheese-making.

Usage Note

Uncountable: 'a curd' is rare; learners say 'some curd', 'a piece of curd', or 'the curds and whey'.

Common Mistakes

I ate three curds for breakfast.
I ate some curd for breakfast.
curd is uncountable like 'cheese'; use 'some curd' or 'a piece of curd'.
The milk curd into white lumps.
The milk curdled into white lumps.
'curd' is a noun; the verb form is 'curdle'.

2. a soft, thick food whose texture is similar to the solids from sour milk — for e

2.nounB2
Definition

a soft, thick food whose texture is similar to the solids from sour milk — for example bean curd made from soybeans, or lemon curd made by cooking eggs, sugar, and citrus juice.

Example

Minh ordered a bowl of spicy bean curd at the small Sichuan restaurant.

collocation: bean curd (Asian cuisine)

Xiu spread homemade lemon curd onto a warm slice of buttered toast.

collocation: lemon curd as a sweet spread

Common collocations
  • bean curd
  • soybean curd
  • lemon curd
  • orange curd
  • fried bean curd
Synonyms
  • tofu

    the everyday English term for the East Asian food made from soybeans; 'bean curd' is the older translation-style equivalent.

  • paste

    more general — any soft, spreadable mixture; lacks the specific milky / set-textured connotation.

Grammar Patterns

[noun] + curd: bean curd, lemon curd, soybean curd

Usage Note

Almost always preceded by a noun modifier naming the main ingredient ('bean curd', 'lemon curd', 'soybean curd'). Distinguish from sense 1: this sense names a finished food product, not the raw milk solids.

Common Mistakes

I bought curd at the Asian market.' (when meaning tofu)
I bought bean curd at the Asian market.
without a modifier, English readers default to sense 1 (the milk substance), so specify 'bean curd' for tofu-style food.
She made a lemon curds tart.
She made a lemon curd tart.
in fixed compounds like 'lemon curd', the noun stays singular.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four words name different stages and outcomes of the same milk transformation. Curd is the thick white solids that separate from milk when it sours; whey is the watery yellowish liquid left behind in the same process — the two are produced together. Cheese is what curd becomes once it has been pressed, salted, and often aged; cheese is a finished food, curd is the intermediate substance. Yogurt is a different result of fermenting milk, kept as a creamy semi-solid without being separated into solids and liquid. So: milk + souring agent → curd + whey; curd + pressing/aging → cheese; milk + bacteria culture → yogurt (no curd / whey split).

curd ↗wheycheese ↗yogurt ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • curds and whey
  • bean curd
  • lemon curd
  • soybean curd

Phrases

  • form curd
  • press the curd
  • strain the curd

Prepositions

  • curd from milk
  • curd in cheese-making

Etymology

Middle EnglishEnglish

First recorded in Middle English around 1350 as 'crud', meaning a coagulated substance. The 'r' and 'u' switched places (a process called metathesis) to give the modern spelling 'curd' by the 1500s. The ultimate origin before Middle English is unclear — possibly related to a word for 'press' or 'squeeze together'.

First known use

14th century

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Verb