Showing results for "curve"

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Slang dictionary results for curve.

curve

American  

[kurv] / kɜrv /

noun

curves plural

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.

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verb (used with object)

curves, present (3rd person singular) curved, past participle, past curving present participle

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

2. to grade on a curve.

verb (used without object)

curves, present (3rd person singular) curved, past participle, past curving present participle

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.

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. see flatten the curve.

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

curve British  

/ 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

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verb

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

curve Scientific  

/ kûrv /

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.

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curve More Idioms  

1. see throw a curve.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• curvedness
  noun
• undercurve
  noun
• curveless
  adjective
• curvy
  adjective
• uncurved
  adjective
• uncurving
  adjective
• well-curved
  adjective
• curvedly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• curves
  plural

Participles

• curving
  present
• curved
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• curve
  simple
• curves
  simple
• have curved
  perfect
• has curved
  perfect
• am curving
  progressive
• are curving
  progressive
• is curving
  progressive
• have been curving
  perfect progressive
• has been curving
  perfect progressive

Past

• curved
  simple
• had curved
  perfect
• was curving
  progressive
• were curving
  progressive
• had been curving
  perfect progressive

Future

• will curve
  simple
• will have curved
  perfect
• will be curving
  progressive
• will have been curving
  perfect progressive

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

Mainstream monetary economists for generations have operated on a theory—encapsulated by the Phillips Curve and its many iterations—that there exists a trade-off between full employment and price stability.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026

Appeared in the May 23, 2026, print edition as 'Britain Versus the Laffer Curve'.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

Haas' Oliver Bearman had a frightening high-speed crash at Spoon Curve, caused by a 50km/h speed differential between his car and that of Franco Colapinto's Alpine.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

Bearman had a significant overspeed on Franco Colapinto's Alpine, with whom he was contesting 17th place, as they approached the Spoon Curve.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

It was not the way Curve smelled that Colin liked—not exactly.

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

Related Words

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