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

The episode delivered a satisfying—and emotional—arc and moved the story forward, something that's all-too important as Big Bang approaches the last half of its final season. — Jessica Radloff, Glamour, "The Big Bang Theory," 6 Dec. 2018 Anna and the Apocalypse pursues a similar bloody arc. — Noah Berlatsky, The Verge, "Why zombies are so hilarious," 5 Dec. 2018 Washington sank 9 of 13 shots and 6 of 9 behind the arc to build a 24-6 lead. — Percy Allen, The Seattle Times, "Washington breezes past Eastern Washington with an eye toward top-ranked Gonzaga," 27 Nov. 2018 Branagh described the film to Nerdist as an origin story, comparing Artemis' character arc to that of Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 masterpiece, The Godfather. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "First trailer for Artemis Fowl might make you believe in fairies," 27 Nov. 2018 And in makeup artist Diane Kendal's world, more is always more, as the addition of a third lash line, positioned to arc over lids and below brow, proved with aplomb. — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, "The Best Beauty Instagrams of the Week: Meet the Extreme Lashes of the Future (and More!)," 25 Nov. 2018 The traditional method calls for laying the knife's long axis at 90 degrees to the long axis of the sharpening stone and then moving down the stone's length with a gently curving arc. — Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, "15 Things to Do Around the House Before the Holidays," 16 Nov. 2018 The second arc, The Fate of Atlantis, picks up in Spring 2019 and deals with... — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "This week in games: Katamari Damacy finally rolls onto PCs, Tencent's snowboarding battle royale," 14 Sep. 2018 During the early salvo, Crisp made two behind the arc and Thybulle had one. — Percy Allen, The Seattle Times, "Washington breezes past Eastern Washington with an eye toward top-ranked Gonzaga," 27 Nov. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

On one play Sunday, Abby Dahlkemper arced a pass from beyond midfield on the right side to Rapinoe streaking along the left. — Rachel Bachman, WSJ, "Rock Star U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Makes World Cup," 15 Oct. 2018 Racket movements that should have easily resulted in high-arcing lobs often resulted into low shots over the net, for instance, without much rhyme or reason. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Hands-on: Oculus Quest is an intriguing new middle ground for VR," 27 Sep. 2018 But the ball dropped perfectly back to Mertens, whose volley from the right side of the box arced into the far corner. — Andy Scott, chicagotribune.com, "Lukaku scores twice as Belgium prove too strong for Panama," 18 June 2018 Plus, teams were packing the box against Argentina, as shown by Messi’s eight blocked shots and his shot chart that arced around the heart of the penalty area. — Paul Carr, SI.com, "Inside the Numbers of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup Past," 12 June 2018 The fountains were timed to the music in huge, arcing sprays of water set to the beat. — Charlotte Wilder, SI.com, "In a Season to Remember, Las Vegas Knights Fans Experience The Agony of Defeat," 8 June 2018 Cruyff was a master of flicks, feints, impudent shots and passes that described arcing lines of beauty. — The Economist, "When drama and beauty turn the World Cup into art," 7 June 2018 After all, the teen had done it several times before – find a tall spindly tree, shimmy up until the tree bent under his weight and swing himself as the arcing branch lowered him to the ground below. — Shari Rudavsky, Indianapolis Star, "Doctors at Riley thought boy might never walk again. He surprised them.," 13 Apr. 2018 Sometimes arcing can be a single spark to something larger that can create heat and possibly smoke. — Dana Hedgpeth, Washington Post, "Metro restores service on Red Line in downtown Washington after debris fire," 1 June 2018

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.