curve
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 ).
Baseball.
the path followed by a ball pitched as a curveball: The curve on that ball was nasty!
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.
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.: Compare absolute (def. 10).
a curved guide used in drafting.
to bend in a curve; cause to take the course of a curve.
to grade on a curve.
to bend in a curve; take the course of a curve.
Baseball. to pitch a curveball: After two forkballs, Stewart curved to Hernandez for a called strike.
having the shape of a curve; curved.
Idioms about curve
ahead of / behind the curve, at the forefront of (or lagging behind) recent developments, trends, etc.
flatten the curve. See entry at flatten the curve.
throw (someone) a curve,
to take (someone) by surprise, especially in a negative way.
to mislead or deceive.
Origin of curve
1Other words from curve
- curv·ed·ly [kur-vid-lee], /ˈkɜr vɪd li/, adverb
- curv·ed·ness, noun
- curve·less, adjective
- un·curved, adjective
- un·curv·ing, adjective
- un·der·curve, noun
- un·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. 2024
How to use curve in a sentence
You know, instead of you, you know, really easy decisions, they move on to misinformation and really vague things and evaluating dangerous groups and that sort of moving people up the difficulty curve is, is also improving things.
EmTech Stage: Facebook’s CTO on misinformation | Tate Ryan-Mosley | November 18, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewWe have served as a model for bending the curve of infections through rigorous infection-control practices.
As pandemic raged and thousands died, government regulators cleared most nursing homes of infection-control violations | Debbie Cenziper, Joel Jacobs, Shawn Mulcahy | October 29, 2020 | Washington PostLa Russa went on to win one World Series title with the Oakland Athletics and two with the Cardinals, gaining a reputation for being ahead of the curve in strategic deployments such as bullpen specialization.
Baseball has changed since the last time Tony La Russa was a manager. Can he change with it? | Dave Sheinin | October 29, 2020 | Washington PostIn Indonesia, we do like the intermediate part of the curve so maybe toward the 10-year.
BlackRock is betting against the Greenback—regardless of who wins the U.S. election | kdunn6 | October 27, 2020 | FortuneThough he had his best season in three years according to WAR per 162 games, Kershaw will be 33 next season, an area of the aging curve in which pitchers typically see their strikeouts drop and their FIPs rise.
What To Watch For In One Of The Most Intriguing World Series Ever | Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com) | October 20, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight
Wielding a curved knife, a young man navigates past the aging structures and into the forest.
His spine was curved, indicating the condition known as scoliosis.
Three Dicks: Cheney, Nixon, Richard III and the Art of Reputation Rehab | Clive Irving | July 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTRoll-neck designs were made in fine pleats with arms buried in folds of curved material.
Comme Des Garçons, Kenzo, and More Japanese Designers at Paris Fashion Week | Liza Foreman | March 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTReporters call it "the fishbowl": the building is curved, and the entire area is fronted by glass.
He created the curved Virgule heel as a signature, to differentiate his work post-Dior.
Shoes Fit For A Museum: Roger Vivier’s Virigule Show Opens at Palais De Tokyo | Sarah Moroz | October 2, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTHer eyes were blazing with triumph, yet her lips curved with contempt at the attitude of her trembling father.
The Red Year | Louis TracyHe curved his hand round mine, and told me as long as I played right, his hand would not interfere with mine.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy FayIn shape it is curved, like those things for candles attached to upright pianos, but with a weighted foot to hold it firm.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy FayThey are straight or curved rods, which vary markedly in size and outline, and stain very irregularly (Fig. 123).
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddLettice, he saw, was lying with a cigarette against the bank of sloping sand that curved above them.
The Wave | Algernon Blackwood
British Dictionary definitions for curve
/ (kɜːv) /
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 graph: an 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
to take or cause to take the shape or path of a curve; bend
Origin of curve
1Other words from curve
- Related adjective: sinuous
Derived forms of curve
- curvedly (ˈkɜːvɪdlɪ), adverb
- curvedness, noun
- curvy, adjective
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
Scientific definitions for curve
[ kûrv ]
A line or surface that bends in a smooth, continuous way without sharp angles.
The graph of a function on a coordinate plane. In this technical sense, straight lines, circles, and waves are all curves.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with curve
see throw a curve.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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