Lexic.us

Definition of Curve

1. Noun. The trace of a point whose direction of motion changes.

2. Verb. Turn sharply; change direction abruptly. "The motorbike veered to the right"

3. Noun. A line on a graph representing data.

4. Verb. Extend in curves and turns. "The path twisted through the forest"

5. Noun. A pitch of a baseball that is thrown with spin so that its path curves as it approaches the batter.

6. Verb. Form an arch or curve. "Her hips curve nicely"

7. Noun. The property possessed by the curving of a line or surface.

8. Verb. Bend or cause to bend. "The road curved sharply"

9. Noun. Curved segment (of a road or river or railroad track etc.).

10. Verb. Form a curl, curve, or kink. "The cigar smoke curled up at the ceiling"

Definition of Curve

1. a. Bent without angles; crooked; curved; as, a curve line; a curve surface.

2. n. A bending without angles; that which is bent; a flexure; as, a curve in a railway or canal.

3. v. t. 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.

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

Definition of Curve

1. Adjective. (obsolete) Bent without angles; crooked; curved. ¹

2. Noun. A gentle bend, such as in a road. ¹

3. Noun. A simple figure containing no straight portions and no angles; a curved line. ¹

4. Noun. 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. ¹

5. Noun. (analytic geometry) A continuous map from a one-dimensional space to a multidimensional space. ¹

6. Noun. (geometry) A one-dimensional figure of non-zero length; the graph of a continuous map from a one-dimensional space. ¹

7. Noun. (algebraic geometry) An algebraic curve; a polynomial relation of the planar coordinates. ¹

8. Noun. (topology) A one-dimensional continuum. ¹

9. Noun. (''informal, usually in plural'' '''curves''') The attractive shape of a woman's body. ¹

10. Verb. (transitive) To bend; to crook. ¹

11. Verb. (transitive) To cause to swerve from a straight course. ¹

12. Verb. (intransitive) To bend or turn gradually from a given direction. ¹

13. Verb. To grade on a curve (bell curve of a normal distribution). ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Curve

1. to deviate from straightness [v CURVED, CURVING, CURVES] : CURVEDLY [adv]

Medical Definition of Curve

1. A nonangular deviation from a straight course in a line or surface. This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology (11 Mar 2008)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Curve

curvated curvation curvations curvative curvatives curvaton curvatons curvatura curvatura ventriculi major curvatura ventriculi minor

curvature curvature aberration curvature hyperopia curvature of field curvatures curve (current term) curve-billed tinamou curve-billed tinamous curve ball curve deficiency

curve of Spee curve of occlusion curveball curveballed curveballing curved curved shape curvedly curvedness

Literary usage of Curve

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and by Hugh Chisholm (1910)
"The curve of second Theorem. — The envelope of order which is generated by two second class which is generated projective flat pencils passes by two ..."

2. A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism by James Clerk Maxwell (1892)
"This method of calculating a solid angle involves a choice of axes which is to some extent arbitrary, and it does not depend solely on the closed curve. ..."

3. Elements of the Differential and Integral Calculus by William Anthony Granville (1904)
"This process is laborious at best, and in case the equation of the curve is of a degree ... The general form of a curve is usually all that is desired, ..."

4. A Course in Mathematical Analysis by Edouard Goursat, Earle Raymond Hedrick (1916)
"It is clear that the center of gravity lies within every closed convex curve C that envelops the curve L. When the number of intervals increases ..."

5. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London by Royal Society (Great Britain) (1894)
"The asymmetrical probability curve is tho second approximation— the symmetrical probability curve being the first approximation—to the law of frequency ..."

6. Psychology: General Introduction by Charles Hubbard Judd (1907)
"The curve is published by Bryan and Harter. The number of weeks of practice is indicated in the upper part of the figure. The number of letters which can be ..."

7. Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Standard Work of Reference in Art, Literature (1907)
"As A is any given point on the curve, and HI any line through it, ... Six point« taken at random will therefore not lie on a curve of the second order. ..."

Other Resources: