flatten the curve

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

to reduce the peak rate of new infections during an epidemic by implementing interventions that slow transmission, thereby distributing cases over a longer time period and preventing the healthcare system from being overwhelmed by a surge of simultaneous severe cases requiring intensive medical care; the phrase, which became one of the defining public health slogans of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, refers to the shape of the epidemic curve plotting new cases over time, contrasting a sharp high peak that exceeds hospital capacity with a flatter, more extended curve that stays within the bounds of available healthcare resources; flattening the curve accepts a longer epidemic duration in exchange for lower peak severity