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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

“I think the biggest thing is the team changed,” Redick said before Friday’s game of Knecht’s career arc.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

In “Ausländer: One Family’s Story of Escape and Exile,” Mr. Moritz traces the generational arc of trauma and displacement that has also encompassed his own life experience.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

The strategy confirmed electric arc furnaces as the future of British steelmaking, replacing traditional blast furnaces, which resulted in job losses at steelworks including Port Talbot.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

“If you’re looking at the arc — not as a Super Bowl but how the NFL wanted to come back to Los Angeles — you have Disney, a longstanding, old-school entertainment partner,” Demoff said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

Bailey looks at the arc of cards and frowns.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

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

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 team, led by Flinders ARC Research Fellow Dr. Witold Bloch, created specialized materials known as adsorbents that can effectively capture PFAS.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 8, 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

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

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

I remember they sat us down in their production office, and we had champagne, and they gave us each our character arcs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 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

Often, our life arcs lead us from one solid self to another.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

Its shell is a pointy oval, bisected at an angle, like a shield with a daisy on one side and a tribal flourish on the other, its flippers extending in pointy arcs.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

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

It arced over the Gulf of Mexico like the four Starships before it that ended up being destroyed, either soon after liftoff or while ditching into the sea.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2024

This one arced over Chelsea’s wall and dropped crisply into the bottom corner beyond Kepa Arrizabalaga’s despairing dive.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 18, 2023

The sim wasn't yet up, but its rays arced over the horizon and brought light to the sky.

From "Holes" by Louis Sachar

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 familiar approach, arcing towards the stumps, heels kicking up, limbs loose.

From BBC ● May 23, 2025

The lawsuit includes close-up photographs of M16T1, including black markings on the tower that attorneys allege are signs of recent arcing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 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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