curve

[kurv] /kɜrv/
noun
1.
a continuously bending line, without angles.
2.
the act or extent of curving.
3.
any curved outline, form, thing, or part.
4.
a curved section of a road, path, hallway, etc.
5.
Railroads. a curved section of track: in the U.S. the curve is often expressed as the central angle, measured in degrees, of a curved section of track subtended by a chord 100 feet (30 meters) long (degree of curve)
6.
Also called curve ball. Baseball.
  1. a pitch delivered with a spin that causes the ball to veer from a normal straight path, away from the side from which it was thrown.
  2. the course of such a pitched ball.
7.
a graphic representation of the variations effected in something by the influence of changing conditions; graph.
8.
Mathematics. a collection of points whose coordinates are continuous functions of a single independent variable.
9.
a misleading or deceptive trick; cheat; deception.
10.
Education. a grading system based on the scale of performance of a group, so that those performing better, regardless of their actual knowledge of the subject, receive high grades:
The new English professor marks on a curve.
Compare absolute (def 10).
11.
a curved guide used in drafting.
verb (used with object), curved, curving.
12.
to bend in a curve; cause to take the course of a curve.
13.
to grade on a curve.
14.
Baseball. to pitch a curve to.
verb (used without object), curved, curving.
15.
to bend in a curve; take the course of a curve.
adjective
16.
curved.
Idioms
17.
ahead of / behind the curve, at the forefront of (or lagging behind) recent developments, trends, etc.
18.
throw (someone) a curve,
  1. to take (someone) by surprise, especially in a negative way.
  2. to mislead or deceive.
Origin
1565-75; (< Middle French) < Latin curvus crooked, bent, curved
Related forms
curvedly
[kur-vid-lee] /ˈkɜr vɪd li/ (Show IPA), adverb
curvedness, noun
curveless, adjective
uncurved, adjective
uncurving, adjective
undercurve, noun
undercurve, verb (used without object), undercurved, undercurving.
well-curved, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for throw a curve

curve

/kɜːv/
noun
1.
a continuously bending line that has no straight parts
2.
something that curves or is curved, such as a bend in a road or the contour of a woman's body
3.
the act or extent of curving; curvature
4.
(maths)
  1. a system of points whose coordinates satisfy a given equation; a locus of points
  2. the graph of a function with one independent variable
5.
a line representing data, esp statistical data, on a graph: an unemployment curve
6.
ahead of the curve, ahead of the times; ahead of schedule
7.
behind the curve, behind the times; behind schedule
8.
short for French curve
verb
9.
to take or cause to take the shape or path of a curve; bend
related
adjective sinuous
Derived Forms
curvedly (ˈkɜːvɪdlɪ) adverb
curvedness, noun
curvy, adjective
Word Origin
C15: from Latin curvāre to bend, from curvus crooked
Word Origin and History for throw a curve

curve

v.

early 15c. (implied in curved), from Latin curvus "crooked, curved, bent," and curvare "to bend," both from PIE root *(s)ker- "to turn, bend" (see ring (n.)).

n.

1690s, "curved line," from curve (v.). With reference to the female figure (usually plural, curves), from 1862; as a type of baseball pitch, from 1879.

throw a curve in Medicine

curve (kûrv)
n.

  1. A line or surface that deviates from straightness in a smooth, continuous fashion.

  2. Something characterized by such a line or surface, especially a rounded line or contour of the human body.

  3. A curved line representing variations in data on a graph.

v. curved, curv·ing, curves
To move in or take the shape of a curve.
throw a curve in Science
curve
  (kûrv)   

  1. A line or surface that bends in a smooth, continuous way without sharp angles.

  2. The graph of a function on a coordinate plane. In this technical sense, straight lines, circles, and waves are all curves.


Idioms and Phrases with throw a curve

throw a curve

Surprise or outwit someone, as in They threw me a curve when they said that our department would be combined with yours. This colloquial term comes from baseball, where a pitcher tries to fool the batter by using a curve ball, which is thrown with sufficient spin to make it veer from its expected path. The term was transferred to other kinds of surprise, not necessarily unpleasant, in the mid-1900s.

curve

see: throw a curve