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• arc
  arc

  noun

  any unbroken part of the circumference of a circle or other curved line.
• ARC
  ARC

  noun

  AIDS-related complex.

arc

¹ American  

[ahrk] / ɑrk /

noun

• arcs
  plural

1. Geometry. any unbroken part of the circumference of a circle or other curved line.

2. Also called electric arc.  Electricity. a luminous bridge formed in a gap between two electrodes.

3. Astronomy. the part of a circle representing the apparent course of a heavenly body.

4. anything bow-shaped.

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verb (used without object)

arced, arcked, arcing, arcking

1. to form an electric arc.

2. to move in a curve suggestive of an arc.

ARC ² American  

[ahrk] / ɑrk /

noun

1. Pathology. AIDS-related complex.

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ARC ³ American  

Or A.R.C.

abbreviation

1. American Red Cross.

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arc ¹ British  

/ ɑːk /

noun

1. something curved in shape

2. part of an unbroken curved line

3. a luminous discharge that occurs when an electric current flows between two electrodes or any other two surfaces separated by a small gap and a high potential difference

4. astronomy a circular section of the apparent path of a celestial body

5. maths a section of a curve, graph, or geometric figure

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verb

1. (intr) to form an arc

prefix

1. maths specifying an inverse trigonometric function: usually written arcsin , arctan , arcsec , etc, or sometimes sin–1 , tan–1 , sec–1 , etc

ARC ² British  

abbreviation

1. AIDS-related complex: an early condition in which a person infected with the AIDS virus may suffer from such mild symptoms as loss of weight, fever, etc

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arc Scientific  

/ ärk /

1. A segment of a circle.

2. See electric arc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• arcs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of arc

1350–1400; Middle English ark < Latin arcus bow, arch, curve

Explanation

An arc is a curve. You can describe the bend of a rainbow as an arc. In math, an arc is one section of a circle, but in life you can use the word to mean any curved shape, like the arc of a ballerina's arm or the graceful arc of a flowering vine over a trellis. In the 14th century, arc first meant the movement of the sun in the sky, from the Old French arc, "bow or arch," and the Latin root arcus, also "bow or arch."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

arc ARC arcs arced arcing

The contested isles are part of the volcanic Kuril archipelago, which runs in a broad arc from Russia's Kamchatka peninsula down to Japan's main northern island Hokkaido.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

Starbuck is easily my favorite character, and probably the one with the most developed arc.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

At its peak - weather permitting - only an arc of the Sun will be seen.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

The emotional arc Nolan wants to trace should start there.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

Before I could finish baiting, another trout jumped at the falls, making the same lovely arc and disappearing into the water that was thundering down.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

Shell says it will buy ARC for 32.80 Canadian dollars per share, made up of 75% Shell stock and 25% cash—a 27% premium to ARC’s closing price on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday.

From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026

Shell has agreed to buy Canadian shale company ARC Resources for $13.6 billion, in a move to boost its production capabilities at a time when prices have jumped.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 27, 2026

With that, regulators sent a clear message that was the start of a more M&A-friendly era, ARC Group analysts said in a report.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026

But a handful of recent games lauded for their AAA-feel by critics and gamers alike - such as ARC Raiders, Split Fiction, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - asked for more modest prices of £30-£40.

From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026

THE ARC DE L'ETOILE.—The triumphal arch bears many scars, but none of them of much importance.

From Paris under the Commune The Seventy-Three Days of the Second Siege; with Numerous Illustrations, Sketches Taken on the Spot, and Portraits (from the Original Photographs) by John Leighton

The film is Marvel's last big-screen outing before Doomsday, the long-awaited culmination of multiple superhero story arcs after Avengers: Endgame.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

The same mechanism could help explain why hydrothermal sulfide deposits along submarine island arcs often contain unusually large amounts of gold.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

Their career arcs have taken different paths to their first Grand Slam meeting.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026

Before Alphy, past seasons featured arcs about its citizens and vicars confronting bigotry.

From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2026

She moves each of her arms and legs in slow arcs, her eyes following them, like a dancer in slow motion.

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina

Suddenly, the whale’s dark body arced above the surface before diving down to reveal its tail, or fluke.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

But as the sound of his melancholy horn arced through a sweltering Pasadena afternoon, one couldn’t help but be grateful to still have him here playing, even after losing everything.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2025

Fitzpatrick expertly arced in an early shot before his run led to Dylan Smith's dismissal for a clumsy challenge.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2023

This one arced over Chelsea’s wall and dropped crisply into the bottom corner beyond Kepa Arrizabalaga’s despairing dive.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 18, 2023

To move like lightning when the bendy yellow bamboo arced downwards.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

The ultra-fast missiles travel on a high arcing trajectory before crashing down into their target.

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026

A birthday party had just ended, and he was offered a piece of cake, chocolate with a jelly-bean rainbow arcing across the frosting.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025

It soars upward and hangs there for four seconds, six seconds, eight—a black meteor arcing against the blue sky.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2025

The familiar approach, arcing towards the stumps, heels kicking up, limbs loose.

From BBC ● May 23, 2025

He dove even lower, arcing behind the ships and squinting through his gun sight.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• arch