["python","curly-braces","parentheses","braces"]
What is the meaning of curly braces?

Just starting to figure Python out. I've read this question and its responses: Is it true that I can't use curly braces in Python? and I still can't fathom how curly braces work, especially since pages like Simple Programs: http://wiki.python.org/moin/SimplePrograms use curly braces all over the place. I understand square brackets and regular curved parentheses, but I don't know what's meant by "defining dictionaries" or what they're supposed to represent.
"Curly Braces" are used in Python to define a dictionary. A dictionary is a data structure that maps one value to another - kind of like how an English dictionary maps a word to its definition. Python: dict = { "a" : "Apple", "b" : "Banana", } They are also used to format strings, instead of the old C style using %, like: ds = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'] x = ['has_{} 1'.format(d) for d in ds] print x ['has_a 1', 'has_b 1', 'has_c 1', 'has_d 1'] They are not used to denote code blocks as they are in many "C-like" languages. C: if (condition) { // do this } Update: In addition to Python's dict data types Python has (since Python 2.7) set as well, which uses curly braces too and are declared as follows: my_set = {1, 2, 3, 4}