Synonyms

recurve

American

[ri-kurv] / rɪˈkɜrv /

verb (used with or without object)

recurved, recurving

to curve or bend back or backward.

recurve British

/ rɪˈkɜːv /

verb

to curve or bend (something) back or down or (of something) to be so curved or bent

"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

Etymology

Origin of recurve

1590–1600; < Latin recurvāre, equivalent to re- re- + curvāre to curve

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.

When a storm does recurve, it often loses strength because of contact with colder water from the Baja California peninsula or the California coastline.

From New York Times • Oct. 13, 2021

Competitors use either recurve or compound bows, depending on the event.

From BBC • Aug. 16, 2021

Ana Paula Vázquez, Mexico: Young archer who began her career using the compound bow, but who has since switched to the recurve bow.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 22, 2021

Rand Al-Mashhadani lost her first round match 7-1 to Japan's Kaori Kawanaka in the individual recurve event on Friday.

From Reuters • Sep. 29, 2014

It is a tented arch, then, of the type approaching the loop, with two of the characteristics, but lacking the third, a recurve.

From The Science of Fingerprints Classification and Uses by Hoover, J. Edgar (John Edgar)

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