antarctic

[ ant-ahrk-tik, -ahr-tik ]

/ æntˈɑrk tɪk, -ˈɑr tɪk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR antarctic ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of, at, or near the South Pole.

noun

the Antarctic, the Antarctic Ocean and Antarctica.

Nearby words

antalya, antanaclasis, antananarivo, antapex, antaranga, antarctic, antarctic archipelago, antarctic beech, antarctic circle, antarctic circumpolar current, antarctic convergence

Origin of antarctic

1325–75; < Latin antarcticus < Greek antarktikós (see ant-, arctic); replacing Middle English antartik (< Middle French) < Medieval Latin antarticus

Can be confused

antarctic arctic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for antarctic

As forbidding as this terrain is, there is another force at work on the ocean surface – the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
MH370 Debris Is Lost Forever, Can the Plane Be Found Without It?|Clive Irving|September 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In ‘Chasing Shackleton’, Tim Jarvis re-enacts a hundred-year-old Antarctic journey using replica gear and clothing.
Polar Explorer vs. Reality TV Crew: Tim Jarvis in the Footsteps of Shackleton|Darrell Hartman|January 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The teams of service personnel, all of whom have physical or cognitive injuries, have walked 335km across the Antarctic Plateau.
Prince Harry Arrives at South Pole|Tom Sykes|December 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The teams of service personnel, all of whom have physical or cognitive injuries, will race 335km across the Antarctic Plateau.
Prince Harry Proves He Is The Coolest Royal As he Prepares To Walk To the South Pole|Tom Sykes|November 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST

During a scientific expedition in the Antarctic he lost his colleagues 300 miles from safety.
Six Greatest Acts of Human Endurance|Nico Hines|November 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Those parts of the world which lie within the Arctic and Antarctic circles.
The Sailor's Word-Book|William Henry Smyth
They lay in thousands on the low rocks that lined that entire side of the island, basking in the sun of the antarctic seas.
The Sea Lions|James Fenimore Cooper
A grain-size of a half to one inch is perhaps commonest in Antarctic glacier-ice.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson
It was September, the March of the antarctic circle, and the weather had been terrific during most of the period.
The Sea Lions|James Fenimore Cooper
The merchant would no longer expose his cargoes to the mountainous billows and capricious gales of the Antarctic seas.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay

British Dictionary definitions for antarctic

Antarctic

/ (æntˈɑːktɪk) /

noun

the Antarctic or Antarctic Zone Antarctica and the surrounding waters

adjective

of or relating to the south polar regions

Word Origin for Antarctic

C14: via Latin from Greek antarktikos; see anti-, arctic

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Culture definitions for antarctic

Antarctic

The region around the South Pole, Antarctica, and the surrounding ocean.