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Showing results for recurve. Search instead for recure.
Synonyms

recurve

American  
[ri-kurv] / rɪˈkɜrv /

verb (used with or without object)

recurved, recurving
  1. to curve or bend back or backward.


recurve British  
/ rɪˈkɜːv /

verb

  1. to curve or bend (something) back or down or (of something) to be so curved or bent

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of recurve

1590–1600; < Latin recurvāre, equivalent to re- re- + curvāre to curve


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Which brings us back to the hero’s mythical recurve.

From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026

Ana Paula Vázquez, Mexico: Young archer who began her career using the compound bow, but who has since switched to the recurve bow.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 22, 2021

She is now the world number one in the women's recurve category and a strong candidate for a medal in Tokyo.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2021

But when he turned 21, a friend gave him a Hungarian recurve horseback bow.

From New York Times ● May 31, 2018

To spoil the recurve of a whorl the appendage must be connected to the recurve at the point of contact with the line of flow.

From The Science of Fingerprints Classification and Uses by J. Edgar (John Edgar) Hoover

The flowers of Evergreen amaryllis feature mint green petals, and Wild Amazone has long, recurved petals in a blend of brick-red, maroon, ivory and pale green.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 6, 2023

When Dr. Caron stuck several of the newly gained specimens under a high-powered scanning microscope, he spotted a ribbonlike structure studded with recurved teeth on both sides, like the business end of a chain saw.

From New York Times ● Sep. 20, 2022

“They’re these harpoon-like things with all these recurved barbs,” Trager said, adding that’s it’s easy to see why the spines are tough to pull out.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2022

Flower with a slender tube and narrow recurved lobes; a cup-shaped crown connecting the stamens.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Asa Gray

Tree 75–100° high; leaves oblong-ovate, taper-pointed, distinctly and often coarsely toothed; petioles and midrib soon nearly naked; prickles of the fruit mostly recurved or spreading.—N.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Asa Gray

De Kooning's characteristically hooked, recurving line takes on an invigorating speed, charging and skidding through the dense paint, slits open with the promise of spatial depth, only to shut again.

From Time Magazine Archive

Anthers oblong, versatile, straight or recurving in age.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Asa Gray

Much care must be exercised in interpreting appendages because they sometimes change the shape of the recurving ridge to which they are connected.

From The Science of Fingerprints Classification and Uses by J. Edgar (John Edgar) Hoover

The part of the circuit in front of the right delta, however, cannot be construed as a recurving ridge because of the appendage abutting upon it in the line of flow.

From The Science of Fingerprints Classification and Uses by J. Edgar (John Edgar) Hoover

A recurving ridge enters from the right side and exits in the same direction.

From The Science of Fingerprints Classification and Uses by J. Edgar (John Edgar) Hoover

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