Adjacent Words

Curve definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CURVE, a. [L., bent, crooked; to bend, turn or wind.] Bending; crooked; inflected in a regular form, and forming part of a circle; as a curve line, which may be cut by a right line in more points than one. A curve line is that which is neither a straight line, nor composed of straight lines.
CURVE, n. A bending in a regular form, or without angles; that which is bent ; a flexure; part of a circle. In geometry, a line which may be cut by a right line in more points than one.
CURVE, v.t. [L.] To bend; to crook; to inflect.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the trace of a point whose direction of motion changes [syn: curve, curved shape] [ant: straight line]
2: a line on a graph representing data
3: a pitch of a baseball that is thrown with spin so that its path curves as it approaches the batter [syn: curve, curve ball, breaking ball, bender]
4: the property possessed by the curving of a line or surface [syn: curvature, curve]
5: curved segment (of a road or river or railroad track etc.) [syn: bend, curve] v
1: turn sharply; change direction abruptly; "The car cut to the left at the intersection"; "The motorbike veered to the right" [syn: swerve, sheer, curve, trend, veer, slue, slew, cut]
2: extend in curves and turns; "The road winds around the lake"; "the path twisted through the forest" [syn: wind, twist, curve]
3: form an arch or curve; "her back arches"; "her hips curve nicely" [syn: arch, curve, arc]
4: bend or cause to bend; "He crooked his index finger"; "the road curved sharply" [syn: crook, curve]
5: form a curl, curve, or kink; "the cigar smoke curled up at the ceiling" [syn: curl, curve, kink]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin curvus; akin to Greek kyrtos convex, Middle Irish cruinn round Date: 15th century archaic bent or formed into a curve II. verb (curved; curving) Etymology: Latin curvare, from curvus Date: 1594 intransitive verb to have or take a turn, change, or deviation from a straight line or plane surface without sharp breaks or angularity transitive verb 1. to cause to curve 2. to throw a curveball to (a batter) 3. to grade (as an examination) on a curve III. noun Date: 1666 1. a. a line especially when curved: as (1) the path of a moving point (2) a line defined by an equation so that the coordinates of its points are functions of a single independent variable or parameter b. the graph of a variable 2. something curved: as a. a curving line of the human body b. plural parenthesis 3. a. curveball b. trick, deception 4. a distribution indicating the relative performance of individuals measured against each other that is used especially in assigning good, medium, or poor grades to usually predetermined proportions of students rather than in assigning grades based on predetermined standards of achievement 5. trend <a growth curve in advertising revenues>; especially a prevalent trend or rate of progress — often used in the phrases ahead of the curve and behind the curve <companies that are behind the curve in adopting new technologies> • curvy adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a line or surface having along its length a regular deviation from being straight or flat, as exemplified by the surface of a sphere or lens. 2 a curved form or thing. 3 a curved line on a graph. 4 Baseball a ball caused to deviate by the pitcher's spin. --v.tr. & intr. bend or shape so as to form a curve. Derivatives: curved adj. Etymology: orig. as adj. (in curve line) f. L curvus bent: (v.) f. L curvare

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Adiabatic Ad`i*a*bat"ic, a. [Gr. ? not passable; 'a priv. + ? through + ? to go.] (Physics) Not giving out or receiving heat. -- Ad`i*a*bat`ic*al*ly, adv. Adiabatic line or curve, a curve exhibiting the variations of pressure and volume of a fluid when it expands without either receiving or giving out heat. --Rankine.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Geodetic Ge`o*det"ic, Geodetical Ge`o*det"ic*al, a. Of or pertaining to geodesy; obtained or determined by the operations of geodesy; engaged in geodesy; geodesic; as, geodetic surveying; geodetic observers. Geodetic line or curve, the shortest line that can be drawn between two points on the elipsoidal surface of the earth; a curve drawn on any given surface so that the osculating plane of the curve at every point shall contain the normal to the surface; the minimum line that can be drawn on any surface between any two points.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Curve Curve (k[^u]rv), a. [L. curvus bent, curved. See Cirb.] Bent without angles; crooked; curved; as, a curve line; a curve surface.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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. 2. (Geom.) A line described according to some low, and having no finite portion of it a straight line. Axis of a curve. See under Axis. Curve of quickest descent. See Brachystochrone. Curve tracing (Math.), the process of determining the shape, location, singular points, and other peculiarities of a curve from its equation. Plane curve (Geom.), a curve such that when a plane passes through three points of the curve, it passes through all the other points of the curve. Any other curve is called a curve of double curvature, or a twisted curve.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Curve Curve, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Curved (k?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 ball in pitching it.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Curve Curve, v. i. To bend or turn gradually from a given direction; as, the road curves to the right.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(curves, curving, curved) 1. A curve is a smooth, gradually bending line, for example part of the edge of a circle. ...the curve of his lips. ...a curve in the road. N-COUNT: usu with supp 2. If something curves, or if someone or something curves it, it has the shape of a curve. Her spine curved... The track curved away below him. ...a knife with a slightly curving blade... A small, unobtrusive smile curved the cook's thin lips. VERB: V, V adv/prep, V-ing, V n 3. If something curves, it moves in a curve, for example through the air. The ball curved strangely in the air. VERB: V 4. You can refer to a change in something as a particular curve, especially when it is represented on a graph. Each firm will face a downward-sloping demand curve... N-COUNT: usu with supp see also learning curve 5. If someone throws you a curve or if they throw you a curve ball, they surprise you by doing something you do not expect. (mainly AM) At the last minute, I threw them a curve ball by saying, 'We're going to bring spouses'. PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Bend. See curvature, 1. II. v. a., v. n. Bend, crook, inflect, turn, wind.

Moby Thesaurus

aberrancy, aberration, arc, arch, artful dodge, artifice, bag of tricks, bear off, bend, bend back, bias, blind, bluff, bosey, bow, bowl, branch off, branching off, cast, catacaustic, catch, catenary, caustic, change of pace, change the bearing, change-up, chicanery, chouse, chuck, chunk, circle, circuit, circuitousness, circumference, coil, compass, conchoid, corner, crook, curl, curvation, curvature, curve-ball, declination, decurve, deflect, depart from, departure, design, detour, deviance, deviancy, deviate, deviation, device, deviousness, diacaustic, diffract, diffuse, digress, digression, dirty deal, dirty trick, discursion, disperse, distort, divagate, divagation, divaricate, divarication, diverge, divergence, diversion, divert, dodge, dogleg, dome, double, downcurve, drift, drifting, ellipse, embow, errantry, excursion, excursus, exorbitation, fast deal, fastball, feint, festoon, fetch, ficelle, flex, fling, flip, forward pass, gambit, gimmick, googly, hairpin, heave, heel, hocus-pocus, hook, hump, hunch, hurl, hyperbola, incurvate, incurvation, incurvature, incurve, indirection, inflect, inflection, joker, juggle, knuckleball, lateral, lateral pass, lituus, lob, loop, obliquity, outcurve, parabola, pass, peg, pererration, pitch, ploy, pull, put, rambling, recurve, reflect, reflex, refract, retroflex, rondure, round, ruse, sag, scatter, scheme, screwball, scurvy trick, serve, service, sheer, shift, shifting, shifting course, shifting path, shot-put, shy, sinker, sinus, skew, slant, sleight, sleight of hand, sleight-of-hand trick, slider, sling, spiral, spitball, spitter, stratagem, straying, subterfuge, swag, sweep, swerve, swerving, swinging, tack, throw, toss, tracery, trend, trick, turn, turn aside, turning, twist, upcurve, variation, vary, vault, veer, wandering, warp, wile, wind, yaw, zigzag