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:
“The companies that will define the digital age are the ones investing ahead of the curve and delivering for customers, and that is what we are doing,” Executive Chairman Dave Cote said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
“With the expectations and valuation placed on Anthropic, there isn’t much room for that growth curve to disappoint,” Gilbert says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Rushing went through a learning curve juggling his defensive and offensive responsibilities, and navigating intense online scrutiny of his outbursts on the field and in the dugout.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
At the Texas event, Tesla set up a gigantic C-shaped ramp, and the Roadster ascended to the top of the curve.
From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2026
Would the memories curve into themselves into a perfect round river?
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
“Between the homes, a freeform pool curves through natural rock, hiding a grotto and a slide, with a shallow ledge for lounging and an elevated spa,” according to the listing.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
As steep learning curves go, this one was off the scale.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
The two-dimensional surface itself is finite and has no border because it curves back around.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
Which may well be why so many musical instruments so often mirror the curves, contours and parts of the human body.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Joe said the curves were “meanders,” and he showed her rocks in the streambed that were full of ancient shells.
From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen
Even the chisels -- straight, curved or zigzag, depending on the motif -- are made here.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
Using SpaceX rocket technology, the angular sports car climbed a curved ramp and hurled itself to a controlled landing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Megaraptorans were closely related to tyrannosaurs including Tyrannosaurus rex but had slender heads and attacked prey with their large arms and giant curved claws instead of their jaws.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art’s central plaza, which spreads out beneath the building’s curved, hovering form, was always meant to be a generous civic space.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The road curved past a field of purple wildflowers.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
After passing Taiwan's north-eastern tip and the Okinawa islands in southern Japan, Champi is expected to hover over the waters off China's eastern coast, before curving farther to the north-east to Japan's main island.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
When choosing a pillow, back sleepers should consider the flexion at the top of their spine, a curving that increases naturally in many people as they age.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
With what looks like a cataract occluding one eye for extra scariness points, and a ring of long white hair curving around his otherwise bald head, he’s played with gusto by Dan Stevens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Malik Tillman’s exquisitely placed, curving free kick for a goal in the 82nd minute might have been Messi-esque, but the call on Balogun?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
The wood was so shiny and polished, curving around like a ride at the fair.
From "I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912" by Lauren Tarshis
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