arc

[ ahrk ]

/ ɑrk /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR arc ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.Compare spark¹(def 2).

Astronomy. the part of a circle representing the apparent course of a heavenly body.

anything bow-shaped.

verb (used without object), arced [ahrkt] /ɑrkt/ or arcked, arc·ing [ahr-king] /ˈɑr kɪŋ/ or arck·ing.

to form an electric arc.

to move in a curve suggestive of an arc.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?

Question 1 of 10

decorum

the act of or need for making up one's mind.

dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.

a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.

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Origin of arc

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH arc

arc ark

Words nearby arc

arbtrn., arbus, arbuscular mycorrhiza, arbuthnot, arbutus, arc, arc cos, arc cosecant, arc cosine, arc cot, arc cotangent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for arcing

That afternoon, on a hunch, Ray Molina, a longtime friend who lived in New Mexico, followed an arcing route south from the lodge.
The Final Run of Ultra-Marathoner Micah True|Nick Heil|May 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I looked down at it, and this rope of blood just went [makes a shooting sound and an arcing motion through the air].
The Knife Master|Melissa Vaughn, Brendan Vaughn|October 11, 2010|DAILY BEAST
He later identified the occurrence in psychic literature as supernatural “arcing.”
Ghostbusters Is Real!|Benjamin Sarlin|October 26, 2009|DAILY BEAST
And then there was the smell of burned insulation and a wire was arcing somewhere, while thick rubbery smoke arose.
The Fifth-Dimension Tube|William Fitzgerald Jenkins

Now the blue fireball was arcing down over the hillside, trailing its orange-red comet tail.
Tom Swift and The Visitor from Planet X|Victor Appleton
The sun was far below the horizon when it was finished, and the glowing, arcing forces that had made and formed it were stopped.
The Last Evolution|John Wood Campbell
It is better to have switches of some excess capacity, as the heavy metal stands the arcing much better.
Motion Picture Operation, Stage Electrics and Illusions|Henry C. Horstmann
Its resistance fell, the arcing decreased; the beam became orange and finally green.
The Last Evolution|John Wood Campbell

British Dictionary definitions for arcing (1 of 2)

arc

/ (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 arcs, arcing, arced, arcs, arcking or arcked

(intr) to form an arc

prefix

maths specifying an inverse trigonometric function: usually written arcsin, arctan, arcsec, etc, or sometimes sin –1, tan –1, sec –1, etc

Word Origin for arc

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

British Dictionary definitions for arcing (2 of 2)

ARC

abbreviation for

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for arcing (1 of 2)

arc

[ ärk ]

n.

A curved line or segment of a circle.

Medical definitions for arcing (2 of 2)

ARC

abbr.

AIDS-related complex

Scientific definitions for arcing

arc

[ ärk ]

A segment of a circle.

See electric arc.

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WORD OF THE DAY

arc

noun

verb (used without object), arced [ahrkt] /ɑrkt/ or arcked, arc·ing [ahr-king] /ˈɑr kɪŋ/ or arck·ing.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

Origin of arc

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH arc

Words nearby arc

Example sentences from the Web for arcing

British Dictionary definitions for arcing (1 of 2)

noun