curve

noun

/kɜːv/

/kɜːrv/

Idioms

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a line or surface that bends gradually; a smooth bend
- curve of something He admired the delicate curve of her ear.
- The pattern was made up of straight lines and curves.
- curve in something (especially North American English) a curve in the road
- on a curve (especially North American English) The driver lost control on a curve and the vehicle hit a tree.
- The program automatically plots the curve on a graph.
- This figure shows the population curve for the last hundred years.
see also bell curve, learning curve
Extra Examples
- He slowed down to negotiate the curve.
- Slow down at the curves.
- The car vanished around a curve.
- The road follows the coast in a wide curve.
- The road went around in a tight curve.
- The seats were arranged to form a curve.
- the curve of his neck
- the natural curve of your spine
- the voluptuous curve of her hips
- (specialist) the unemployment-income curve (= a line on a graph showing the relationship between the number of unemployed people and national income)
- a demand/yield/growth/supply curve (= on a graph )
Topics Colours and Shapesb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- steep
- bell
- normal
- …
verb + curve
- plot
curve + verb
- flatten out
- indicate something
- show something
- …
phrases
- grade on a curve
See full entry
(also curveball)
(in baseball) a ball that moves in a curve when it is thrown to the batterTopics Sports: ball and racket sportsc2
(North American English, informal)
(also curveball)
something that is unexpected and difficult to deal with
curves [plural]
curving shapes that form part of a woman's body
- The supermodel showed off her famous curves in a figure-hugging red dress.
- The evening dress hugged her curves beautifully.

Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin curvare ‘to bend’, from curvus ‘bent’. The noun dates from the late 17th cent.

Idioms

ahead of/behind the curve

(especially North American English, business) in advance of or behind a particular trend
- Our expert advice will help you stay ahead of the curve.
- We've fallen behind the curve when it comes to developing new digital products.

curve

verb

/kɜːv/

/kɜːrv/

[intransitive, transitive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they curve	/kɜːv/ /kɜːrv/
he / she / it curves	/kɜːvz/ /kɜːrvz/
past simple curved	/kɜːvd/ /kɜːrvd/
past participle curved	/kɜːvd/ /kɜːrvd/
-ing form curving	/ˈkɜːvɪŋ/ /ˈkɜːrvɪŋ/

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to move or make something move in the shape of a curve; to be in the shape of a curve
- a curving staircase
- gently curving streets
- + adv./prep. The road curved around the bay.
- The ball curved through the air.
- His lips curved in a smile.
- curve something A smile curved his lips.
Extra Examples
- His mouth curved into a smile.
- The path curved down to the bay.
- The road curved away around the back of the hill.
- a gently curving stream
Topics Colours and Shapesb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- gently
- slightly
- gracefully
- …
preposition
- around
- round
- towards/toward
- …
phrases
- curve into a smile
See full entry
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin curvare ‘to bend’, from curvus ‘bent’. The noun dates from the late 17th cent.