Arctic Circle

American  

noun

1. an imaginary line drawn parallel to the equator, at 23°28prime; S of the North Pole: between the North Frigid Zone and the North Temperate Zone.

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Arctic Circle British  

noun

1. the imaginary circle round the earth, parallel to the equator, at latitude 66° 32′ N; it marks the northernmost point at which the sun appears above the level of the horizon on the winter solstice

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Arctic Circle Scientific  

/ ärk′tĭk /

1. The parallel of latitude approximately 66°33′ north. It forms the boundary between the North Temperate and North Frigid zones.

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Arctic Circle Cultural  

1. Imaginary circle around the Earth about three-quarters of the way from the equator to the North Pole. North of this line is the “Land of the Midnight Sun,” where the sun never sets on the summer solstice.

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The Arctic Circle corresponds to the Antarctic Circle in the Southern Hemisphere.

Example Sentences

While seeing the Northern Lights may once have involved a trip to the Arctic Circle, there have been many more apparent sightings in the UK in recent years.

From BBC

They confirmed for the first time that a potentially deadly whale virus, known as cetacean morbillivirus, is circulating above the Arctic Circle.

From BBC

Within the Arctic Circle - down to a latitude of 23.5 degrees from the North Pole - the sun will not rise at all.

From BBC

The OT’s Jewish victims, like their non-Jewish counterparts, were forced to work on everything from underground armaments factories to V-2 rockets and even a railroad above the Arctic Circle in Norway.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Brazilian anthem was duly played at the bottom of the Lapland ski slope 170km north of the Arctic Circle.

From Barron's