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curve
[ kurv ]
noun
- 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: Compare absolute ( def 10 ).
The new English professor grades on a curve.
- a curved guide used in drafting.
verb (used with object)
- to bend in a curve; cause to take the course of a curve.
- to grade on a curve.
verb (used without object)
- 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.
adjective
- having the shape of a curve; curved.
curve
/ ˈkɜːvɪdlɪ; kɜːv /
noun
- 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 curveahead of the times; ahead of schedule
- behind the curvebehind the times; behind schedule
- short for French curve
verb
- to take or cause to take the shape or path of a curve; bend
curve
/ û /
- 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.
Derived Forms
- ˈܰԱ, noun
- ˈܰ, adjective
- curvedly, adverb
Other 51Թ Forms
- ܰ·· [kur, -vid-lee], adverb
- ܰ··Ա noun
- ܰ· adjective
- ܲ·ܰ adjective
- ܲ·ܰ·Բ adjective
- ܲ··ܰ noun
- ܲ··ܰ verb (used without object) undercurved undercurving
- well-curved adjective
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of curve1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of curve1
Idioms and Phrases
- ahead of / behind the curve, at the forefront of (or lagging behind) recent developments, trends, etc.
- throw (someone) a curve,
- to take (someone) by surprise, especially in a negative way.
- to mislead or deceive.
- flatten the curve. flatten the curve.
More idioms and phrases containing curve
see throw a curve .Example Sentences
He defended his response, arguing that his department was ahead of the curve in distributing monkeypox vaccines across the nation, and that state and local jurisdictions ultimately made decisions about how they were distributed.
We were shot out of the canon, with the learning curve of shooting in Thailand.
In comparison to Oliver’s, Claire’s outfit has more curves, textures and room for her more complex movements.
It’s more dynamic than pickleball, and the curve to learn it is a little steeper.
Researchers believe the species' long, curved claws and its ability to strongly flex them would have made it an efficient grasper of vegetation.
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Related 51Թs
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.
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