What does "curve" mean?
A gentle bend, such as in a road.
Curve
/kɜːv/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A gentle bend, such as in a road.
- Grammar: curve is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: bend, aberrancy, aberration, arc.
- Useful contrasts: german linie, straight piece, alines.
- Usage evidence: The boy knows how to throw a curve.
How to use "curve"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "curve" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "curve" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "curve" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "curve" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "curve" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bend" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "curve", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A gentle bend, such as in a road.
"You should slow down when approaching a curve."
- 2 a pitch of a baseball that is thrown with spin so that its path curves as it approaches the batter wordnet
- 3 A simple figure containing no straight portions and no angles; a curved line.
"She scribbled a curve on the paper."
- 4 curved segment (of a road or river or railroad track etc.) wordnet
- 5 A grading system based on the scale of performance of a group used to normalize a right-skewed grade distribution (with more lower scores) into a bell curve, so that more can receive higher grades, regardless of their actual knowledge of the subject.
"The teacher was nice and graded the test on a curve."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 the property possessed by the curving of a line or surface wordnet
- 7 A grading system based on the scale of performance of a group used to normalize a right-skewed grade distribution (with more lower scores) into a bell curve, so that more can receive higher grades, regardless of their actual knowledge of the subject.; A grading system where all raw scores are raised by a set amount of points. broadly, nonstandard
- 8 a line on a graph representing data wordnet
- 9 A continuous map from a one-dimensional space to a multidimensional space. analytic
- 10 the trace of a point whose direction of motion changes wordnet
- 11 A one-dimensional figure of non-zero length; the graph of a continuous map from a one-dimensional space.
- 12 An algebraic curve; a polynomial relation of the planar coordinates.
- 13 A one-dimensional continuum.
- 14 The attractive shape of a woman's body. informal, plural-normally
Verb
- 1 To bend; to crook. transitive
"to curve a line"
- 2 form a curl, curve, or kink wordnet
- 3 To cause to swerve from a straight course. transitive
"to curve a ball in pitching it"
- 4 turn sharply; change direction abruptly wordnet
- 5 To bend or turn gradually from a given direction. intransitive
"the road curves to the right"
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 bend or cause to bend wordnet
- 7 To grade on a curve (bell curve of a normal distribution). transitive
"The teacher will curve the test."
- 8 form an arch or curve wordnet
- 9 To reject, to turn down romantic advances. slang, transitive
"I was once curved three times by the same woman."
- 10 extend in curves and turns wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Bent without angles; crooked; curved. obsolete
"a curve line"
Antonyms
Example
"The boy knows how to throw a curve."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "curve"?
Common synonyms include: bend, aberrancy, aberration, arc, arc, arc.
How do you use "curve" in a sentence?
The boy knows how to throw a curve.
How do you pronounce "curve"?
Pronounced /kɜːv/.
Etymology
Attested since the 1690s, from Latin curvus (“bent, curved”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend, curve, turn”) + *-wós. Doublet of curb, shrink, carcer, and cancer.