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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

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Etymology

Origin of arc

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

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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

They hit TikTok with longform A.I.-generated episodes of Draco Malfoid and Harry Potter’s enemies-to-lovers arc at Hogwarts.

From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2026

Together, the results revealed signatures consistent with continental arc magmatism, a geological process that occurs when one tectonic plate sinks beneath another, generating magma that can rise through the overlying continental crust.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2026

The fourth quarter turns things around in a way not entirely unexpected; it does make for a nice arc.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

Rock legend Alice Cooper has opened up about his redemption arc from the stage to the church ahead of a book tour pit stop in Wolverhampton.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

The Appalachian Trail runs for 230 miles in a northeasterly arc across the state, like the broad end of a slice of pie.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Alongside the world's media, a few hundred fans filled the balcony above and quickly made their allegiance known as "Oh Anthony Joshua" rang around the British Airways ARC.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

The British energy major agreed to buy Canadian energy producer ARC for about $13.6 billion in April.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

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

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

In a statement, the companies behind the project said the AI-assisted technology will "scan decades of episodes to map character arcs, storylines and standout moments, helping editors quickly identify the strongest material".

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

On Earth, similar processes occur beneath volcanic arcs and are associated with the formation of continents.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026

Two bridges, twin spans, crossed the bay in long arcs.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

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

Wing Elliot Daly, having pondered a blindside dart off a rolling maul, arced round the back of England's backline.

From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2025

The title, pulled from the pastime’s rich glossary, refers to an arced throw of such deliberately underwhelming velocity that it confounds the batter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2025

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

A wave of emotions arced across his face.

From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon

Government fire investigators said the fire, which killed 19 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena, was caused by electrical arcing on Edison’s out-of-service transmission line in Eaton Canyon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

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

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

Stick tried to stop it too—I was sure that’s what he was doing—but his foot followed mine, arcing across the face of the tower.

From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon

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