curve
Americannoun
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curves
plural
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a continuously bending line, without angles.
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the act or extent of curving.
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any curved outline, form, thing, or part.
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a curved section of a road, path, hallway, etc.
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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.
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Baseball.
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the path followed by a ball pitched as a curveball.
The curve on that ball was nasty!
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a graphic representation of the variations effected in something by the influence of changing conditions; graph.
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Mathematics. a collection of points whose coordinates are continuous functions of a single independent variable.
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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.
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a curved guide used in drafting.
verb (used with object)
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curves,
present (3rd person singular)
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curved,
past participle, past
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curving
present participle
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to bend in a curve; cause to take the course of a curve.
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to grade on a curve.
verb (used without object)
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curves,
present (3rd person singular)
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curved,
past participle, past
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curving
present participle
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to bend in a curve; take the course of a curve.
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Baseball. to pitch a curveball.
After two forkballs, Stewart curved to Hernandez for a called strike.
adjective
idioms
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throw (someone) a curve,
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to take (someone) by surprise, especially in a negative way.
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to mislead or deceive.
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flatten the curve. see flatten the curve.
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ahead of / behind the curve, at the forefront of (or lagging behind) recent developments, trends, etc.
noun
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a continuously bending line that has no straight parts
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something that curves or is curved, such as a bend in a road or the contour of a woman's body
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the act or extent of curving; curvature
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maths
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a system of points whose coordinates satisfy a given equation; a locus of points
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the graph of a function with one independent variable
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a line representing data, esp statistical data, on a graph
an unemployment curve
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ahead of the times; ahead of schedule
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behind the times; behind schedule
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short for French curve
verb
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A line or surface that bends in a smooth, continuous way without sharp angles.
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The graph of a function on a coordinate plane. In this technical sense, straight lines, circles, and waves are all curves.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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curvednessnoun
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undercurvenoun
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undercurveverb (used without object)
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curvelessadjective
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curvyadjective
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uncurvedadjective
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uncurvingadjective
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well-curvedadjective
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curvedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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curvesimple
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curvessimple
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have curvedperfect
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has curvedperfect
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am curvingprogressive
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are curvingprogressive
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is curvingprogressive
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have been curvingperfect progressive
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has been curvingperfect progressive
Past
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curvedsimple
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had curvedperfect
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was curvingprogressive
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were curvingprogressive
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had been curvingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of curve
First recorded in 1565–75; from Middle French or directly from Latin curvus “crooked, bent, curved”
Explanation
A curve is an arched or bent shape, like the curve of a smiling mouth or the curve of a road that twists and turns as you drive along the coast. As a noun, a curve can be any shape that deviates from being perfectly straight. You can trace a curve on a graph, throw an arcing pitch in baseball called a curve ball, or just admire the curves of the rolling hills in the distance. And as a verb, curve means to make or form this non-straight shape: "When she's happy, my dog's tail curves up over her back."
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.
See Examples For:
Wallace said he had always been a keen photographer and had been on a learning curve with the tech involved in capturing outer space, including galaxies and nebula.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
"Males are the only pigs whose upper tusks erupt through the snout bone and curve back towards their face."
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
He talked of getting in front of the investment curve by developing in the Balkans, where tourism and property prices are rising, targeting Serbia and Albania.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
“We’re optimistic that new leadership can bend the curve on traffic, but remain realistic that direct competitors have also gotten noticeably sharper, and the planned initiatives will take time to bear fruit,” he wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026
“Scoot your legs in, Jeff. Your slouching will curve your spine,” she said.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
The first one was finished in 1915, and it was one scary ride, crazy as a Mobius strip, with 697 curves in its 36 miles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
In the same way a dismal class performance on a business school exam will still yield some A’s, curves also apply in the stock market when a company’s results aren’t necessarily jumping off the page.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
The redesigned robotaxi’s interior has a lighter color palette, aimed at creating a calmer and more relaxing environment, and added padding and ergonomic curves in the seats and headrests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
At this point, customer adoption curves are the best indicator of whether the technology and the market are ready for mass rollout.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
The air curves, and I see the akrafena spinning back toward me.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
"Comparing the sharply curved wrinkles with flat graphene allowed us to clearly identify the role of extreme curvature."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
Designed to blend into the historic Baroque park, they are notable for their curved ceramic facades, daylight from skylights, accessibility features, drinking fountains -- and free use.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Its curved blade, chipped and rusted, with a gilded, possibly brass, hilt featuring a lion on the end, is too delicate to hold.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Additionally, the home has a den, built-in storage, curved staircase, outdoor movie pavilion, and 50-foot-long lap pool designed by Johnston Vidal.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
First Turkey curved her yellow beak into a smile and turned to Nathan.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
The path of total eclipse begins at the tip of Siberia before curving round the Arctic Ocean and crossing parts of Greenland and Iceland.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Wearing a shoe called “El Último Tango”—”The Last Dance”—Messi sent a corner kick curving into the most dangerous zone on the pitch, head-high just in front of the net.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
Gehry Partners, the architecture firm established by the late Frank Gehry in 2001, released renderings of its redesign, which includes a curving glass canopy above a staircase leading to the Lower Tram entrance.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
Origami models sometimes rely on folding or curving of paper for additional stiffness.
From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026
Shoulders slumped, I step into a massive, darkened theater with endless rows of seats curving around a wide stage.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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.
