flatten the curve

/ˈflætən ðə kɜːv/

phrase★Intermediate

🏥Medicine

technical

To reduce the rate of new infections in an epidemic or pandemic to prevent overwhelming healthcare systems.

Social distancing measures were implemented to flatten the curve during the COVID-19 outbreak.

These measures aimed to slow the virus's spread so hospitals wouldn't be overloaded.

💡

The 'curve' refers to the epidemiological curve showing the number of cases over time. A flatter curve means fewer cases at any given time.

Collocations

flatten the curvea public health strategy to slow disease spread

social distancingphrase

keeping physical space between people to reduce transmission

herd immunityphrase

when enough people are immune to stop widespread transmission

This phrase is specific to epidemiology and not used metaphorically in other contexts.

Always used in discussions about infectious disease control, not general situations.

Coined during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic to describe efforts to control infection rates.

Primarily used in public health discussions about managing infectious disease outbreaks. Not used for non-medical contexts.

flatten

to make flat or less steep

verb

the curve

the graphical representation of infection rates over time

noun phrase

English Dictionary