curve

[kurv]

noun

1. a continuously bending line, without angles.

2. the act or extent of curving.

3. any curved outline, form, thing, or part.

4. a curved section of a road, path, hallway, etc.

5. Railroads.,  a curved section of track: in the U.S. the curve is often expressed as the central angle, measured in degrees, of a curved section of track subtended by a chord 100 feet (30 meters) long degree of curve.

6. Baseball.

   1. curveball.

   2. the path followed by a ball pitched as a curveball.

      The curve on that ball was nasty!

7. a graphic representation of the variations effected in something by the influence of changing conditions; graph.

8. Mathematics.,  a collection of points whose coordinates are continuous functions of a single independent variable.

9. a misleading or deceptive trick; cheat; deception.

10. Education.,  a grading system based on the scale of performance, so that those performing better relative to others in the group, regardless of their actual knowledge of the subject, receive high grades.

    The new English professor grades on a curve.

11. a curved guide used in drafting.

verb (used with object)

curved, curving 

1. to bend in a curve; cause to take the course of a curve.

2. to grade on a curve.

verb (used without object)

curved, curving 

1. to bend in a curve; take the course of a curve.

2. Baseball.,  to pitch a curveball.

   After two forkballs, Stewart curved to Hernandez for a called strike.

adjective

1. having the shape of a curve; curved.

curve

/ ˈkɜːvɪdlɪ, kɜːv /

noun

1. a continuously bending line that has no straight parts

2. something that curves or is curved, such as a bend in a road or the contour of a woman's body

3. the act or extent of curving; curvature

4. maths

   1. a system of points whose coordinates satisfy a given equation; a locus of points

   2. the graph of a function with one independent variable

5. a line representing data, esp statistical data, on a graph

   an unemployment curve

6. ahead of the times; ahead of schedule

7. behind the times; behind schedule

8. short for French curve

verb

1. to take or cause to take the shape or path of a curve; bend

curve

1. A line or surface that bends in a smooth, continuous way without sharp angles.

2. The graph of a function on a coordinate plane. In this technical sense, straight lines, circles, and waves are all curves.

Other Word Forms

• curvedness noun
• curvy adjective
• curvedly adverb
• curveless adjective
• uncurved adjective
• uncurving adjective
• undercurve verb (used without object)
• well-curved adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of curve¹

First recorded in 1565–75; from Middle French or directly from Latin curvus “crooked, bent, curved”

Word History and Origins

Origin of curve¹

C15: from Latin curvāre to bend, from curvus crooked

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. throw (someone) a curve,

   1. to take (someone) by surprise, especially in a negative way.

   2. to mislead or deceive.

2. flatten the curve. flatten the curve.

3. ahead of / behind the curve, at the forefront of (or lagging behind) recent developments, trends, etc.

see throw a curve.

Example Sentences

Armani preferred straighter lines, subtler curves and light, fluid fabrics, to the point where his eveningwear gradually evolved into semi-sheer dresses that seemed to wrap the body in fine netting.

From Los Angeles Times

The striking building has a curved three-sided shape, with a high, jagged exterior glass front and roof.

From BBC

As Matteoli drove the curves of Last Chance Grade last week, construction workers appeared out of the thick morning fog like neon-vested ghosts.

From Los Angeles Times

"I'm hoping this whole sorry affair is a learning curve for the private sector to improve their processes and learn from the public sector on how we protect our staff," he said.

From BBC

In her Instagram apology, Cyan acknowledged that "human trafficking is a very, very serious matter", adding that the backlash had been a "huge learning curve" for her and "and all the other influencers".

From BBC

Related Words

• bend 
• buckle 
• bulge 
• coil 
• crumple 
• curl 
• loop 
• skew 
• spiral 
• swerve 
• twist 
• veer