ARC

¹

Or A.R.C.

abbreviation

1. American Red Cross.

ARC

²

[ahrk]

noun

1. Pathology.,  AIDS-related complex.

arc

³

[ahrk]

noun

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.

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

¹

/ 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

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

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

arc

1. A segment of a circle.

2. See electric arc

Word History and Origins

Origin of arc¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of arc¹

C14: from Old French, from Latin arcus bow, arch

Example Sentences

Shelley’s novel sketches this arc with even more texture.

Read more on Salon

USC’s defense was the story at that point, with the Trojans stifling Illinois State from the start, holding the Redbirds to a mere three baskets inside the arc before halftime.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

They shaped the dramatic arc of the entire film.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Ms. Williams’s stories seem to have passed beyond the dramatic arcs and emotional payoffs customary to short fiction.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The pair feel that there is more to explore, but Matt's twin brother Ross explains they always saw the original story as a self-contained arc and it's definitely "the end for these characters".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• arch