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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Discover More

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

Example Sentences

The resulting images capture mountains and fjords dissolving into sky, rendered in the deep azure light of the Arctic Circle.

From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026

The project sits almost 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle and near the Northwest Passage, a nautical sea route through Canada’s polar region that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

While the Northern Lights are mostly visible near the Arctic Circle and northern Scotland, following a strong storm they were visible as far south as Norfolk on Friday night.

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026

Bodo/Glimt are on the march in the Champions League after dumping out European giants Inter Milan, the latest chapter in a remarkable rise for the tiny club from north of the Arctic Circle.

From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026

The most strident criticism came in the form of a dense, multipage epistle from Ambler, a tiny Inupiat village on the Kobuk River north of the Arctic Circle.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer