arc
noun
any unbroken part of the circumference of a circle or other curved line.
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arc
1 American
[ahrk]
/ ɑrk /
noun
-
arcs
plural
-
Geometry. any unbroken part of the circumference of a circle or other curved line.
-
Also called electric arc. Electricity. a luminous bridge formed in a gap between two electrodes.
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Astronomy. the part of a circle representing the apparent course of a heavenly body.
-
anything bow-shaped.
verb (used without object)
arced,
arcked,
arcing,
arcking
-
to form an electric arc.
-
to move in a curve suggestive of an arc.
ARC
2
American
[ahrk]
/ ɑrk /
noun
ARC
3
American
Or
A.R.C.
abbreviation
ARC
1
British
abbreviation
arc
2
British
/ ɑːk /
noun
-
something curved in shape
-
part of an unbroken curved line
-
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
-
astronomy a circular section of the apparent path of a celestial body
-
maths a section of a curve, graph, or geometric figure
verb
prefix
arc
Scientific
/ ärk /
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing arc
Unit 1: Telling Details
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Middle School Geometry, List 1
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The ACT Math Test: Geometry, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But that was us imposing our desired arc, which we all know doesn’t work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The shadow cast when the Moon blots out the Sun will begin in Russia's remote Arctic north at around 1700 GMT and continue in an arc over Greenland and Iceland.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
“We read to find better ways of being ourselves, and that arc really exemplifies it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The only dance record on the shortlist, Nia Archives' second album traces the arc of a relationship from the first flush of love to a breakup so ugly that her partner calls the police.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
JB made no attempt to stop him because he was spinning around, following the arc of the Elucidator.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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
ARC OF TRIUMPH, Paris, France.—This is the finest triumphal arch in existence.
From Shepp's Photographs of the World by James W. Shepp
No matter the strengths of AI, a chatbot cannot dream up stories with flawed characters and themes and arcs and failures and triumphs—with ambiguous finales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
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
Island arcs, chains of volcanoes that develop above subduction zones where one oceanic plate descends beneath another, are often unusually rich in gold.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
Scenes animated in hand-drawn style are designed to bring Bonnie’s imagination to life, recreating the vivid magic of designing entire stories and character arcs for toys during playtime.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
After a few long arcs, I braked hard with both feet.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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
Bath were shocked as Ramm powered through a gap between defenders and arced away from the covering Bailey to score the home side's third try in fewer than 15 minutes.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2025
Didion bridged the worlds of Hollywood, journalism and literature in a career that arced most brilliantly in the realms of social criticism and memoir.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2024
Experts who watched videos showing downed power lines agreed wire that was insulated would not have arced and sparked, igniting a line of flame.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 26, 2023
He didn’t orbit earth—he sped 116 miles up, reached space, and arced back through the atmosphere.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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
That caused a short-circuit and "arcing" - electric sparks like those in a spark plug - which resulted in a "catastrophic failure".
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025
He gave me the exact hour and made the thundering noise of the tumbling Jeep he graphed with his arcing hand.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
