ARC

¹

[ ahrk ]

noun

1. Pathology. AIDS-related complex.

ARC

²

or A.R.C.

abbreviation for

1. American Red Cross.

arc

³

[ ahrk ]

noun

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. Compare spark ¹( def 2 ).
3. Astronomy. the part of a circle representing the apparent course of a heavenly body.
4. anything bow-shaped.

verb (used without object)

, arced [ahrkt] or arcked, arc·ing [ahr, -king] or arck·ing.

1. to form an electric arc.
2. to move in a curve suggestive of an arc.

ARC

¹

abbreviation for

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

arc

²

/ 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

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

/ ärk /

1. A segment of a circle.
2. See electric arc

Word History and Origins

Origin of ARC¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of ARC¹

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

Example Sentences

Teal debuted on Season 7 of the teen drama in 2010, playing the closeted actor in a seven-episode arc that ended with him coming out to as gay.

From Los Angeles Times

The novel insight is akin to moving from the maps of the 15th Century era of Joan of Arc and Richard III to what the phone in your pocket can load.

From BBC

“I wanted the camera in a certain way to echo her feelings, echo her emotion, her emotional arc and psychological state. Therefore, it’s a little looser, more freewheeling and more colorful at the beginning,” says cinematographer Drew Daniels, who previously collaborated with Baker on “Red Rocket.”

From Los Angeles Times

“There’s a real ‘Inception’ quality to writing an emotional arc for an emotion inside someone else’s head while thinking about it in your head,” Holstein says with a chuckle.

From Los Angeles Times

Along the silky shawl’s upper edge, Leonardo traced a razor-thin arc of reflected light that leads directly into a graceful background bridge across a river, linking near and far.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• arch