curve
curve
/kɜːv/
1 a line or surface that bends gradually; a smooth bend
curve of something He admired the delicate curve of her ear.
curve in something (especially North American English) a curve in the road
The pattern was made up of straight lines and curves.
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.
Collocations
adjective
verb + curve
curve + verb
flatten out
indicate something
show something…
phrases
grade on a curve
2 (also curveball) (in baseball) a ball that moves in a curve when it is thrown to the batter
3 (North American English, informal) (also curveball) something that is unexpected and difficult to deal with
4 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.
Idioms
curve
/kɜːv/
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.
Word Origin
late Middle English: from Latin curvare ‘to bend’, from curvus ‘bent’. The noun dates from the late 17th cent.