Meaning & use
supply curve
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablebusiness
A graph line showing how much of a product sellers will offer at each possible price.
Grammar: Countable: a supply curve, two supply curves.
Patterns
- the supply curve for something
- shift the supply curve
The supply curve for wheat slopes upward as prices rise.
A new tax can shift the supply curve to the left.
Students plotted the supply curve and the demand curve on the same graph.
Word forms
| plural | supply curves |
|---|
Common combinations
- upward-sloping supply curve
- An upward-sloping supply curve is typical of most goods.
- shift the supply curve
- Cheaper materials shift the supply curve to the right.
- plot a supply curve
- Plot a supply curve using the data in the table.
- market supply curve
- The market supply curve adds up all the firms' output.
- supply curve and demand curve
- Prices settle where the supply curve and demand curve meet.
Synonyms and how they differ
- supply schedule
- A supply schedule is the same information in a table rather than a graph line.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: supply curve or demand curve?
supply curve vs demand curve
The demand curve shows what buyers will purchase at each price, while the supply curve shows what sellers will offer.
Practice
If farmers can earn more per bushel, the quantity they offer usually rises. This is shown by the slope of the ___.
Choose one answer.
Seller behaviour at different prices is shown by the supply curve. The demand curve shows buyer behaviour instead.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “supply curve”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.