curve

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the trace of a point whose direction of motion changes
  2. noun a line on a graph representing data
  3. noun a pitch of a baseball that is thrown with spin so that its path curves as it approaches the batter

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

curved shape

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