curve

9 definitions • 14 examples

a line that bends continuously and has no straight parts:

curve in a curve in the road

the curve of a graph

the curved shape in which a ball moves when it is hit or kicked in a particular way:

The ball swung into a reverse curve.

in the sport of baseball, a throw in which the ball curves as it moves towards the player with the bat:

He throws mainly fastballs with the occasional curve.

He fired his unhittable curve, and struck out the final batter.

something unexpected that you do that is difficult for someone else to deal with:

throw someone a curve He threw his boss a curve when he told her that he was resigning.

to form a curve, or move in the shape of a curve:

curve round The road curves round to the left.

to form or move in the direction of a line that turns continuously and has no straight parts, or to cause something to do this:

[ I ] The road curves around the cemetery.

a line on a graph that shows a relationship between two sets of information, for example changes in price over time:

Copper looks like it has reached the top of its price curve.

a falling/downward curve Research spending has been on a falling curve.

a rising/upward curve

a steep/smooth/sharp curve Climate change appears to demand we put our electricity usage on a steep downward curve.

more advanced, or developing, understanding something, or reaching a point more quickly than other things or people:

The ability to speak two languages puts you ahead of the curve in the job market.

less advanced, or developing, understanding something, or reaching a point more slowly than other things or people:

The latest price indices are well behind the curve and have not yet picked up dramatic changes in consumer confidence.