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# curvature

«curvature» in Mova's school dictionary: **how much something curves or bends** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (curvature, a curvature — mostly uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Curvature is how much something curves or bends. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curvature/#m1)

2) (medicine) A curvature of the spine is when the backbone bends sideways or too much. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curvature/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science and geography, you can see the curvature of the Earth from a high plane or from space — evidence that the Earth is round. In maths, curvature describes how sharply a curve bends: a small circle has more curvature than a big one. Phrases: «the curvature of the Earth», «curvature of the spine».

### examples

- From the top of the mountain we could almost see the curvature of the Earth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curvature/#x1)
- Ships disappear bottom first because of the Earth's curvature. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curvature/#x2)
- The curvature of the bridge makes it strong. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curvature/#x3)
- A small circle has a greater curvature than a large one. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curvature/#x4)
- The doctor checked her back for any curvature of the spine. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curvature/#x5)
- The lens's curvature bends the light. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curvature/#x6)

### note

Usually uncountable; «a curvature» for a particular bend. Related: curve, curved, curvy. Myth: from a normal plane the curve is hard to see clearly; ships vanishing over the horizon show it better.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «curvature» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curvature/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.