arc

noun

\ ˈärk

plural arcs

Definition of arc

(Entry 1 of 4)

1 : the apparent path described above and below the horizon by a celestial body (such as the sun)

2a : something arched or curved

b : a curved path the arc of a fly ball

c basketball : three-point line At week's end he was shooting 40.0% from behind the arc and averaging 19.6 points.— Phil Taylor

3 : a sustained luminous discharge of electricity across a gap in a circuit or between electrodes also : arc lamp

4 : a continuous portion (as of a circle or ellipse) of a curved line

5 : degree measurement on the circumference of a circle —used especially in the phrase of arc 11 minutes 3 seconds of arc

6 : a continuous progression or line of development a story's dramatic arc

arc

verb

arced\ ˈärkt

\; arcing\ ˈär-kiŋ

Definition of arc (Entry 2 of 4)

intransitive verb

1 : to form an electric arc (see arc entry 1 sense 3)

2 : to follow an arc-shaped course The ball arced across the sky.

transitive verb

: to throw, hit, or kick (something, such as a ball) on a high, arc-shaped course After driving into the long rough, he reached for a 4-wood and arced the ball just wide of the green.— Jeff Shain

arc

adjective

Definition of arc (Entry 3 of 4)

mathematics

: inverse sense 2 —used with the trigonometric functions and hyperbolic functions

ARC

abbreviation

Definition of ARC (Entry 4 of 4)

1 AIDS-related complex

2 American Red Cross

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about arc

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Synonyms & Antonyms for arc

Synonyms: Noun

angle, arch, bend, bow, crook, curvature, curve, inflection, turn, wind

Synonyms: Verb

arch, bend, bow, crook, curve, fall off, hook, round, sweep, swerve, trend, wheel

Antonyms: Verb

straighten

Examples of arc in a Sentence

Noun

He bent the twig into an arc. The ball floated in a high arc.

Verb

The arrow arced through the air. A light arced across the sky. The island chain arcs from north to south.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

There's just little time here to develop satisfying conclusions to their narrative arcs, so we're instead left with abrupt little happily-ever-after crumbs. — Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Transparent: Musicale Finale': TV Review," 16 Sep. 2019 Nussbaum chronicles this transition, and her career arc is emblematic of it. — Adam Wilson, Harper's magazine, "Good Bad Bad Good," 16 Sep. 2019 Elisabeth Moss, in particular, seems to have been playing June as a suicide bomber all season long, a choice that makes much more sense of her entire arc. — Emily Todd Vanderwerff, Vox, "The Handmaid’s Tale closes a messy season with a surprisingly satisfying finale," 14 Aug. 2019 Her look on this day speaks to both her design aesthetic and career arc thus far; bold, colorful, whimsical and with a connection to Kanye West. — Melissa Magsaysay, chicagotribune.com, "Meet Chicago native Maisie Schloss, the first designer in Kanye West’s incubator program," 14 Aug. 2019 Lozada Toledo also points to ridge lines shaded onto the map's topography; a few are close to the arc. — Lizzie Wade, Science | AAAS, "In search of the ‘white Jaguar’: Archaeologists travel deep into the jungle to find a lost Maya city," 5 Sep. 2019 Just think of the 6-foot-8, 240-pounder trying to chase shooters around the 3-point arc. — Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Pistons mailbag: Does adding Carmelo Anthony make sense this season?," 19 Aug. 2019 To prevent such a disaster, in early July a giant crane began hoisting 7-ton wooden frames cut to the exact specifications of the flying buttresses, to be wedged inside each arc, in order to weigh them down and stop the building from shifting. — Vivienne Walt / Paris, Time, "Inside the Fight Over How Notre Dame Should Rise From the Ashes," 25 July 2019 Less than three minutes later, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher's pass to Becky Sauerbrunn was stripped by Lucia Garcia and the ball wound up at the feet of Hermoso, who sent her shot from the penalty arc into the top right corner. — Anne M. Peterson, Houston Chronicle, "U.S. escapes with narrow win over Spain to advance to World Cup quarterfinals," 25 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The lavender selfie, typically a young woman wearing a prairie dress and a straw hat posing amid rows of purple blooms arcing to the horizon, has become an image ubiquitous on Instagram every June and July during harvest season. — Steven Kurutz, New York Times, "Why Does Everything Smell, So Peacefully, of Lavender?," 14 Sep. 2019 Quarterback Adam Arardian arced a ball over the Indians secondary and into the hands of Ben Burnham, who ran down the seam of the left side for a 49-yard touchdown. — Nathan Cambridge, Burbank Leader, "Burbank football ends nonleague schedule with loss to Hart," 13 Sep. 2019 Behind Blitzer was a panorama of the Earth, that hot blue dot, with a thin haze of atmosphere — our protector, our smotherer — arcing across the stage. — Dan Zak, Washington Post, "CNN’s epic town hall on climate was a perfect time capsule for an unprecedented moment," 5 Sep. 2019 Davis would move on to become the Raiders' majority owner, and Walsh would move on to a series of coaching jobs, his trajectory arcing ever upward, toward the Hall of Fame. — Jon Wertheim, SI.com, "How the Influence of Al Davis Shaped the Modern NFL," 27 Aug. 2019 The high-arcing pass floated down between two Stanford defenders, landing perfectly in the outstretched arms of Amon-ra St. Brown for a touchdown. — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, "Kedon Slovis’ stellar first start leads USC over No. 23 Stanford," 7 Sep. 2019 In a span of three plays, Glennon found Grant for an 18-yard gain, arced a throw to Keon Hatcher up the sideline for 27 yards and hit Marcell Ateman for 19 yards. — Matt Kawahara, SFChronicle.com, "Raiders open preseason with 14-3 win over Rams," 10 Aug. 2019 Winston’s only miss was an arcing bomb to Breshad Perriman that was a few yards too long. — Rick Stroud, orlandosentinel.com, "A lot to like in Bucs’ preseason opener, even if it came against Steelers’ backups," 10 Aug. 2019 Our creator Sam [Levinson] really wanted to propel the character arcs forward by showcasing the makeup as a whole new freedom of self-expression. — Lauren Valenti, Vogue, "How Euphoria’s Lead Makeup Artist Sparked a Gen-Z Beauty Movement," 1 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'arc.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.