curve
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
curve/kɜːv/
▶noun a line or outline which gradually deviates from being straight for some or all of its length.
■ a line on a graph (whether straight or curved) showing how one quantity varies with respect to another.
■ (also curve ball) Baseball a delivery in which the pitcher causes the ball to deviate from a straight path by imparting spin.
▶verb form or cause to form a curve.– phrases
ahead of (or behind) the curve chiefly US (especially of a business or politician) ahead of (or lagging behind) current thinking or trends.
ahead of (or behind) the curve chiefly US (especially of a business or politician) ahead of (or lagging behind) current thinking or trends.
– origin ME: from L. curvare ‘to bend’, from curvus ‘bent’.
'curve' also found in these Oxford entries:
ahead
- arc
- arch
- archivolt
- arcuate
- asymptote
- bank
- behind
- bell curve
- bend
- bight
- bout
- bow-legged
- brachistochrone
- breakfront
- camber
- camelback
- cardioid
- catenary
- caustic
- centre
- characteristic curve
- chesterfield
- clockwise
- closed
- compass window
- continuous
- courbette
- crescent
- Cupid's bow
- curb
- curvature
- curvet
- cusp
- cycloid
- directrix
- dose-response curve
- draw
- entasis
- envelope
- epicycloid
- evolute
- extrados
- festoon
- fill
- flare
- flourish
- focus
- foil
