curve

curve
1 noun (C)
1 a line which gradually bends like part of a circle: a curve on a graph | the curve of her hips
2 a rounded bend in a road, river etc: The car took the curve much too quickly.
3 curve ball a throw in baseball in which the ball spins so that it curves suddenly and is difficult to hit
4 AmE throw sb a curve to surprise someone with a question or problem that is difficult to deal with: They threw us a curve and asked us about Longfellow when we were ready for a question on Thoreau.
2 verb (I, T) to bend or move in the shape of a curve, or to make something do this: The track curved into the woods.

Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.

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  • curve — [kɜːv ǁ kɜːrv] noun [countable] a diagram showing how a price or an amount changes in relation to another price, amount etc: • The price curve is rising as the bond gets closer to maturity. US /kɜːv/ noun [C] ► GRAPHS & CHARTS a line on a graph… …   Financial and business terms

  • Curve — Curve, n. [See {Curve}, a., {Cirb}.] 1. A bending without angles; that which is bent; a flexure; as, a curve in a railway or canal. [1913 Webster] 2. (Geom.) A line described according to some low, and having no finite portion of it a straight… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • curve — vb Curve, bend, twist are comparable when they mean to swerve or cause to swerve or deviate from a straight line or a normal direction or course. Curve is the word of widest application, and it may describe any deviation or swerving from the… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • curve — [kʉrv] adj. [L curvus, bent: see CROWN] Archaic curved n. 1. a line having no straight part; bend having no angular part 2. a thing or part having the shape of a curve 3. the act of curving, or the extent of this 4. [pl.] the pronounced curving… …   English World dictionary

  • curve — ⇒CURVE, adj. Rare. Courbe. J appris les secrets Des pertuisés roseaux et de la curve flûte (MORÉAS, Sylves, 1896, p. 161). Rem. Canada 1930, BÉL. 1957, DUL. 1968 attestent curve, subst. fém., région. (Canada) au sens de « courbe, tournant,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Curve — Curve, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Curved} (k[^u]rvd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Curving}.] [L. curvare., fr. curvus. See {Curve}, a., {Curb}.] To bend; to crook; as, to curve a line; to curve a pipe; to cause to swerve from a straight course; as, to curve a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Curve — (k[^u]rv), a. [L. curvus bent, curved. See {Cirb}.] Bent without angles; crooked; curved; as, a curve line; a curve surface. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Curve — (englisch für „Kurve; Rundung“) bezeichnet: eine britische Rock /Electronica Band, siehe Curve (Band) eine US amerikanische Lesbenzeitschrift, siehe Curve (Zeitschrift) Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • curve — curve; curve·some; in·curve; …   English syllables

  • Curve — Curve, v. i. To bend or turn gradually from a given direction; as, the road curves to the right. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • curve — [n] arched, rounded line or object ambit, arc, arch, bend, bight, bow, camber, catenary, chord, circle, circuit, circumference, compass, concavity, contour, crook, curlicue, curvation, curvature, ellipse, festoon, flexure, hairpin, half moon,… …   New thesaurus

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