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.
curveball.
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.
a misleading or deceptive trick; cheat; deception.
Education. a grading system based on the scale of performance of a group, so that those performing better, regardless of their actual knowledge of the subject, receive high grades: The new English professor marks on a curve.Compare absolute (def. 10).
a curved guide used in drafting.
verb (used with object),curved,curv·ing.
to bend in a curve; cause to take the course of a curve.
to grade on a curve.
verb (used without object),curved,curv·ing.
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.
Idioms for curve
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.
Origin of curve
First recorded in 1565–75; from Middle French or directly from Latin curvus “crooked, bent, curved”
Given where he falls on aging curves, his prospect pedigree and the success of sons of former major leaguers,16 there are many indicators that suggest Tatís will have staying power as one of the game’s top players.
Fernando Tatís Jr. Was Already Mashing. Then He Started Hitting The Ball Harder.|Travis Sawchik|August 21, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
There are 11 rows of seats curving around the balcony where you like to sit.
The first murder|Katie McLean|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Ever since Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity recast gravity as curves in space-time, physicists have wondered if his work was the final word.
The Physicist Who Slayed Gravity’s Ghosts|Thomas Lewton|August 18, 2020|Quanta Magazine
From 2007 to 2019, left-handers registered a substantially lower velocity for every type of pitch tracked, including not only higher-velocity pitches like fastballs and sinkers, but also sliders, changeups and curves.
What Really Gives Left-Handed Pitchers Their Edge?|Guy Molyneux|August 17, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
The best light for the pigments to absorb, then, was in the steepest parts of the intensity curve for the solar spectrum — the red and blue parts of the spectrum.
Why Are Plants Green? To Reduce the Noise in Photosynthesis.|Rodrigo Pérez Ortega|July 30, 2020|Quanta Magazine
After acknowledging that there has been a “bend in the curve” and a reason to hope, he warned against inaction.
Millions Promised for Ebola Not Adding Up|Abby Haglage|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“He also said, ‘We might be too ahead of the curve,’” Kudrow remembers.
How Lisa Kudrow Pulled Off TV’s Ultimate ‘Comeback’|Kevin Fallon|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“This is the key way to bend the curve,” Powell told The Daily Beast of the mission abroad in a September interview.
Ron Klain Will Be the Best Ebola Czar Yet|Tim Mak, Abby Haglage|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No one has gone back yet to look, but the key thing is getting this isolation and then being able to bend the curve.
Meet America’s New Top Ebola Fighter|Abby Haglage|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You were really ahead of the curve there on Archer with the Jakov plotline.
'Archer Creator Adam Reed on 'Vice,' Season 6's 'Unreboot,' and New Characters|Marlow Stern|August 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mr. Ginsburg turned on the couch so that his face was close to the wall, and his voice half lost in the curve of his arm.
Just Around the Corner|Fannie Hurst
By this time the runners had made the curve at the bow of the boat and were coming up the starboard side, toward the stern.
The Brighton Boys in the Radio Service|James R. Driscoll
Around the curve is the Armory (L) where athletic and social events and weekly convocations are held.
North Dakota|Various
The two extended arms together form a long line arching like the curve of a bow.
Michelangelo|Estelle M. Hurll
I recognized her instantly—the curve of her shoulders, the poise of her head, and her waving jet-black hair to confirm.
The Plum Tree|David Graham Phillips
British Dictionary definitions for curve
curve
/ (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 graphan 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
5 More Pandemic Words & Phrases People Want To Stop HearingAfter receiving over 300 submissions following our original post, we have a few additions to talk about. Here are the five most suggested pandemic words and phrases Thesaurus.com fans told us they never, ever want to hear again.