Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

demand curve

Cultural  

  1. A mathematical curve, drawn on a graph, that represents what the demand for a commodity would be if its price ranged anywhere from zero to infinity. The point at which it intersects the supply curve for the same commodity supposedly establishes the price of the commodity in a free market. (See supply and demand.)

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.

“As a regulator, in some ways you never have enough people, but the supply and demand curve is getting a little askew here.”

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

“As a regulator, in some ways you never have enough people, but the supply and demand curve is getting a little askew here.”

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

Maybe aggregate demand also falls, but then what happens to price, when you have both the supply curve and the demand curve shifting?

From Slate • Aug. 11, 2025

“The demand curve just shoots up very, very quickly.”

From New York Times • Feb. 5, 2024

Clearly, then, the demand curve, DD', must slope downwards from left to right, since the lower the price asked, the greater will be the amount demanded.

From Supply and Demand by Henderson, Hubert D.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.