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

As inspirations, the guitarist cites Christo and Jean-Claude’s 2021 wrapping of Paris’ Arc de Triomphe as well as Culver City’s Museum of Jurassic Technology, which he calls one of his favorite places in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times

The arc of the film is Pharrell re-discovering his muse after a period where he gets lost, creatively.

From BBC

Sir Keir and the French president laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in the French capital.

From BBC

They recognized that while the arc of the moral universe is long, it did not necessarily bend toward justice.

From Salon

In the classical instrumental solo category, the L.A. ensemble Wild Up’s recording of “Eastman: The Holy Presence of Joan d’Arc” earned nominations for soloist Seth Parker Woods and conductor Christopher Rountree.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• arch