curve
Americannoun
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curves
plural
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a continuously bending line, without angles.
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the act or extent of curving.
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any curved outline, form, thing, or part.
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a curved section of a road, path, hallway, etc.
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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.
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Baseball.
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the path followed by a ball pitched as a curveball.
The curve on that ball was nasty!
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a graphic representation of the variations effected in something by the influence of changing conditions; graph.
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Mathematics. a collection of points whose coordinates are continuous functions of a single independent variable.
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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.
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a curved guide used in drafting.
verb (used with object)
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curves,
present (3rd person singular)
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curved,
past participle, past
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curving
present participle
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to bend in a curve; cause to take the course of a curve.
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to grade on a curve.
verb (used without object)
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curves,
present (3rd person singular)
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curved,
past participle, past
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curving
present participle
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to bend in a curve; take the course of a curve.
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Baseball. to pitch a curveball.
After two forkballs, Stewart curved to Hernandez for a called strike.
adjective
idioms
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throw (someone) a curve,
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to take (someone) by surprise, especially in a negative way.
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to mislead or deceive.
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flatten the curve. see flatten the curve.
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ahead of / behind the curve, at the forefront of (or lagging behind) recent developments, trends, etc.
noun
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a continuously bending line that has no straight parts
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something that curves or is curved, such as a bend in a road or the contour of a woman's body
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the act or extent of curving; curvature
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maths
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a system of points whose coordinates satisfy a given equation; a locus of points
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the graph of a function with one independent variable
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a line representing data, esp statistical data, on a graph
an unemployment curve
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ahead of the times; ahead of schedule
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behind the times; behind schedule
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short for French curve
verb
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A line or surface that bends in a smooth, continuous way without sharp angles.
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The graph of a function on a coordinate plane. In this technical sense, straight lines, circles, and waves are all curves.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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curvednessnoun
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undercurvenoun
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undercurveverb (used without object)
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curvelessadjective
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curvyadjective
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uncurvedadjective
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uncurvingadjective
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well-curvedadjective
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curvedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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curvesimple
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curvessimple
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have curvedperfect
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has curvedperfect
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am curvingprogressive
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are curvingprogressive
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is curvingprogressive
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have been curvingperfect progressive
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has been curvingperfect progressive
Past
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curvedsimple
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had curvedperfect
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was curvingprogressive
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were curvingprogressive
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had been curvingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of curve
First recorded in 1565–75; from Middle French or directly from Latin curvus “crooked, bent, curved”
Explanation
A curve is an arched or bent shape, like the curve of a smiling mouth or the curve of a road that twists and turns as you drive along the coast. As a noun, a curve can be any shape that deviates from being perfectly straight. You can trace a curve on a graph, throw an arcing pitch in baseball called a curve ball, or just admire the curves of the rolling hills in the distance. And as a verb, curve means to make or form this non-straight shape: "When she's happy, my dog's tail curves up over her back."
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:
Sakurai is already ahead of the curve by leaning into the material’s brainless escapism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Treasury yields were slumping across the curve early Thursday as bonds headed for their biggest one-day rally in at least a year.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
The rise in rates has contributed to increases in bond yields on the short end of the curve, which has been seeing issuances in greater numbers, Dabla-Norris said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Kenya's National Police Service told the BBC: "There are huge lessons picked from the day's events," which had "formed a fundamental learning curve for a better, more professional application in the future."
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
I put my hand on the bell and feel its curve.
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
“Between the homes, a freeform pool curves through natural rock, hiding a grotto and a slide, with a shallow ledge for lounging and an elevated spa,” according to the listing.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
As steep learning curves go, this one was off the scale.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
The two-dimensional surface itself is finite and has no border because it curves back around.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
Bots are now working to beat this system, too, trying to mimic the small imperfections of real human movement with tools that add natural-looking curves and randomness to the path of a mouse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
He was already taking curves on two wheels.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
Using SpaceX rocket technology, the angular sports car climbed a curved ramp and hurled itself to a controlled landing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Megaraptorans were closely related to tyrannosaurs including Tyrannosaurus rex but had slender heads and attacked prey with their large arms and giant curved claws instead of their jaws.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
The high, flared wheel arches, the tall, curved roof and the eye-like headlights are all reminders of the original "deux chevaux" or "two horses".
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
The residents of Drop City, a Colorado artists’ community, built domes from the curved steel tops of salvaged cars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The room has gigantic curved windows for walls.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
When choosing a pillow, back sleepers should consider the flexion at the top of their spine, a curving that increases naturally in many people as they age.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
With what looks like a cataract occluding one eye for extra scariness points, and a ring of long white hair curving around his otherwise bald head, he’s played with gusto by Dan Stevens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
But it soon began curving around the Arctic Ocean arriving in Iceland in the early evening before sweeping southwards to treat the UK to part of its wonder.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Wearing a shoe called “El Último Tango”—”The Last Dance”—Messi sent a corner kick curving into the most dangerous zone on the pitch, head-high just in front of the net.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
The pond separates our yard from Mr. Bender’s, and the small creek that feeds it separates our neighbors’ yards to the south, like a natural curving fence.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
