curve

[kurv]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR curve ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a continuously bending line, without angles.

the act or extent of curving.

any curved outline, form, thing, or part.

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

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).

Also called curve ball, curveball. Baseball.

a pitch delivered with a spin that causes the ball to veer from a normal straight path, away from the side from which it was thrown.
the course of such a pitched ball.

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

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

a misleading or deceptive trick; cheat; deception.

Education. a grading system based on the scale of performance of a group, so that those performing better, regardless of their actual knowledge of the subject, receive high grades: The new English professor marks on a curve.Compare absolute(def 10).

a curved guide used in drafting.

verb (used with object), curved, curv·ing.

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

to grade on a curve.

Baseball. to pitch a curve to.

verb (used without object), curved, curv·ing.

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

adjective

having the shape of a curve; curved.

Idioms

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

throw (someone) a curve,

to take (someone) by surprise, especially in a negative way.
to mislead or deceive.

Origin of curve

1565–75; (< Middle French) < Latin curvus crooked, bent, curved

Related formscurv·ed·ly

[kur-vid-lee] /ˈkɜr vɪd li/, adverbcurv·ed·ness, nouncurve·less, adjectiveun·curved, adjectiveun·curv·ing, adjectiveun·der·curve, nounun·der·curve, verb (used without object), un·der·curved, un·der·curv·ing.well-curved, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for curve ball

bender, curve, googly

British Dictionary definitions for curve ball

curve ball

noun

baseball a ball pitched in a curving path so as to make it more difficult to hit

informal something deceptivehis wholesome image was a curve ball thrown to deceive the public

curve

noun

a continuously bending line that has no straight parts

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

the act or extent of curving; curvature

maths

a system of points whose coordinates satisfy a given equation; a locus of points
the graph of a function with one independent variable

a line representing data, esp statistical data, on a graphan unemployment curve

ahead of the curve ahead of the times; ahead of schedule

behind the curve behind the times; behind schedule

short for French curve

verb

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

Related formsRelated adjective: sinuous

Derived Formscurvedly (ˈkɜːvɪdlɪ), adverbcurvedness, nouncurvy, adjective

Word Origin for curve

C15: from Latin curvāre to bend, from curvus crooked

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

Word Origin and History for curve ball

curve

1690s, "curved line," from curve (v.). With reference to the female figure (usually plural, curves), from 1862; as a type of baseball pitch, from 1879.

curve

early 15c. (implied in curved), from Latin curvus "crooked, curved, bent," and curvare "to bend," both from PIE root *(s)ker- "to turn, bend" (see ring (n.)).

curve ball in Medicine