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# curve

«curve» in Mova's school dictionary: **A line that bends smoothly without any sharp corners…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a curve, curves); verb (curve, curves, curved, curving)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A line that bends smoothly without any sharp corners, like part of a circle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curve/#m1)

2) A bend in a road, river or path. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curve/#m2)

3) As a verb, to bend in a smooth line. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curve/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In maths, a curve is a line that is not straight; circles and ovals are made of curves, and a graph line can curve. In safety lessons, you cross roads away from curves, because drivers cannot see you. In science, a ball thrown in the air follows a curve. Phrases: a curved line, a sharp curve, curve around, around the curve, a learning curve.

### examples

- Draw a curve, not a straight line. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curve/#x1)
- The road curves around the lake. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curve/#x2)
- Don't cross near a curve; drivers can't see you. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curve/#x3)
- A circle is one long curve. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curve/#x4)
- The rainbow made a curve across the sky. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curve/#x5)
- The ball curved into the goal. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curve/#x6)
- The curve of the broken dome was above his head. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curve/#x7)

### note

Countable noun; regular verb (curved, curving). "Curved" is the adjective: a curved edge. In maths, faces can be flat or curved: a cylinder has two flat faces and one curved surface. Safety: cross where you can see far in both directions, not on a bend.

### In the corpora

- [Birds of prey, also called raptors, hunt other animals with sharp eyes, hooked beaks and gripping feet with curved talons.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/0/)
- [Long curved claws hook over branches, so a sloth can hang upside down for hours, even asleep, without tiring.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/142-zootopia-real-sloths-shrews-predators-and-prey/6/)
- [Raptors held their big curved toe claw off the ground while walking and probably used it to pin down prey, like hawks today.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/268-raptors-the-real-velociraptor/7/)
- [Grizzly claws can be about 10 centimetres long for digging, while black bears have shorter, curved claws for climbing.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/320-bears-up-close-noses-claws-dens-the-honey-myth-and-bear-safety/8/)
- [Cat claws curve backwards, so they grip well going up but not going down head first, and cats come down trees backwards.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/327-a-kitten-at-home-litter-trays-scratching-posts-and-play/15/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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