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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  

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 ² 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 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

This is precisely what a memoir needs, of course: a narrative arc culminating in resolution and life-lessons learned.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

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

Its discovery suggests that northwestern Iran experienced a separate episode of continental arc activity during the Late Cretaceous, expanding scientists' understanding of how the region developed.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2026

The arc, Thousand-Year Blood War, has been split into four separate chapters, and the final run began this July.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

Meanwhile Tseko did the same with another boy, and I saw that the net had formed an arc in the water on one side of the boat.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Jane Fisher, chief executive of the ARC Charity, said it was a very difficult situation and that using the right term was really important.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The upwards revision is largely driven by higher oil price assumptions and additional barrels from ARC.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Shell announced a $16 billion acquisition of Calgary-based ARC Resources, paying $32.80 per share.

From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026

Shell also is taking on $2.8 billion of ARC net debt and leases.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 27, 2026

Rapidly becoming obsolete as the ARC compression method is falling into disuse, having been replaced by newer compression techniques.

From The Jargon File, Version 2.9.10, 01 Jul 1992 by Eric S. Raymond

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

By recognizing the surviving fragments of these ancient structures, scientists can better reconstruct how tectonic plates descended beneath one another, how volcanic arcs shifted, how continental crust grew, and how once-vast oceans eventually closed.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2026

Sean Fennessey, host of “The Big Picture” podcast, needs to talk about the narrative arcs of just-released movies on his show.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 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

It arcs high and hits near the top of the fence.

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina

Robinson left-footed the ball to an unmarked Dest at the top of the box, a shot that was blocked in the wall, then arced toward the goal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026

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

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

Electricity arced across the creature’s head, causing its whole body to shudder.

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan

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

The delivery to get Rahul was an arcing inswinger, the appeal turned down on the field, then overturned by the replay.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2025

“Marks at the top of the tower prove arcing happened,” Robertson added.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025

The move activates his armguards—an enormous, glowing blue shield bursts outward from them in a circle, arcing protectively in front of us both.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

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