Wort des Tages
5 July 2026
compound curve
A three-dimensional shape into which a thin flat sheet of material, e.g. metal, can be formed by operations that must include stretching or compression, in addition to bending.
Warum dieses Wort
The dividing line is whether the shape can be unrolled flat again. A cylinder or cone can, so a roller handles it; a compound curve cannot, so the metal has to be shrunk or stretched to get there.
In use
That fender's a compound curve, so forget the brake; it's going on the wheel and the shot bag.
Written by our editors to show how the term is used, not a recorded quotation.