flatten the curve

flatten the curve (third-person singular simple present flattens the curve, present participle flattening the curve, simple past and past participle flattened the curve)

1. (epidemiology, colloquial) To reduce the rate at which an infection spreads during an epidemic, decreasing the number of active cases at any given time by increasing the period of time over which similar numbers of cases occur.

The curve represents the total number of currently infected over time. A flattened curve shows a gently sloped hill of a graph, while one that was not flattened shows a steep-sided mountain of a graph. The goal of flattening the curve is to reduce peak infections so as to stay within the capacity of the healthcare system to treat the infected, allowing all who need treatment to receive it.

• curve flattening ((n.) the action of "to flatten the curve")
• curve-flattening ((adj.) attributive form of "curve flattening")

• social distancing (the measures typically used to flatten the curve)