n.
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.
v.
form or cause to form a curve.
Etymology
ME: from L. curvare ‘to bend’, from curvus ‘bent’.
