concave

[ adjective, verb kon-keyv, kon-keyv; noun kon-keyv ]

/ adjective, verb kɒnˈkeɪv, ˈkɒn keɪv; noun ˈkɒn keɪv /

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See synonyms for: concave / concaved / concaves / concaving on Thesaurus.com

adjective

curved like a segment of the interior of a circle or hollow sphere; hollow and curved.Compare convex (def. 1).

Geometry. (of a polygon) having at least one interior angle greater than 180°.

Obsolete. hollow.

noun

a concave surface, part, line, or thing.

Machinery. a concave piece, as one against which a drum rotates.

verb (used with object), con·caved, con·cav·ing.

to make concave.

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Origin of concave

1375–1425; late Middle English (<Middle French ) <Latin concavus, hollow. See con-, cave

OTHER WORDS FROM concave

con·cave·ly, adverbcon·cave·ness, nounsub·con·cave, adjectivesub·con·cave·ly, adverb

sub·con·cave·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use concave in a sentence

The head is small relative to the body length and, when viewed laterally, is slightly concaved or scooped on the upper margin.
Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic|Stephen Leatherwood
The flukes are broad, concaved on the rear margin, and deeply notched.
Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic|Stephen Leatherwood
In the eyes now glaring at them malevolently through heavily concaved spectacles they read hate unutterable.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, March 1930|Various
As a rule, in wild turkeys we find the craniofrontal region more concaved and wider across than it is in the tame varieties.
The Wild Turkey and Its Hunting|Edward A. McIlhenny

The first shaded figure, therefore, represents a concaved surface, and the second figure a convex surface.
Carpentry for Boys|J. S. Zerbe

British Dictionary definitions for concave

concave

/ (ˈkɒnkeɪv, kɒnˈkeɪv) /

adjective

curving inwards

physics having one or two surfaces curved or ground in the shape of a section of the interior of a sphere, paraboloid, etca concave lens

maths (of a polygon) containing an interior angle greater than 180°

an obsolete word for hollow

verb

(tr) to make concave

Compare convex

Derived forms of concave

concavely, adverbconcaveness, noun

Word Origin for concave

C15: from Latin concavus arched, from cavus hollow

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