From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpermperm1 /pɜːm $ pɜːrm/ noun [countable] DCBa process in which you make straight hair curly by using chemicals, or hair that has been treated in this way SYN permanent American English a very curly perm
Examples from the Corpus
perm• And perms, our straight hair tortured into frizz for the Christmas or Easter gathering and the requisite smiling photograph.• Anyway, one day me and my mates were all going to a party so I decided to do a home perm.• To top it all I added a red and white ribbon to the crest of my perm.• Did you get a new perm?• Well a Optaform perm lotion was the applied. 4.• To do just that, he used Wella's Optaform perm on Anthea.• I have a soft perm every 3 to 4 months.• The newest, softest perms add body, waves or bouncy curls.permperm2 verb [transitive] 1 DCBto make straight hair curly by using chemicals I’m going to have my hair permed. her blonde permed hair2 British EnglishDL to choose and combine a number of football games from the list given in the football pools in order to try to win money —perming noun [uncountable] a home perming kit→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
perm• Her hair is dyed black and permed.• Well, you know, I had my hair permed.• After perming, a neutraliser containing conditioning ingredients is applied to smooth the surface of the hair.• Once a year she gets her hair permed and once a year she buys face powder.• Most women think that their hair is not good enough and dye it or bleach it or perm it.• I had my hair permed last week.• They perm their hair, dress in Hawaiian shirts and drive huge Mercedes cars through narrow streets.Origin perm1 (1900-2000) PERMANENT WAVE 