arc

1 of 5

noun

plural arcs
1
: the apparent path described above and below the horizon by a celestial body (such as the sun)
2
a
: 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

2 of 5

verb

arced ˈärkt How to pronounce arc (audio) ; arcing ˈär-kiŋ How to pronounce arc (audio)

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

3 of 5

adjective

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

ARC

4 of 5

abbreviation

1
AIDS-related complex
2
American Red Cross

ARC

5 of 5

abbreviation or noun

plural ARCs
: a copy of a printed work (such as a novel or textbook) sent as a promotion prior to the official release
First, I receive a box of paperback, smaller versions of my book called advance reader copies (ARCs).Susan Van Kirk
While some houses like Chronicle Books continued to sell on the show floor, albeit at 50% discount, many publishers offered free ARCsJudith Rosen

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
Jackson's 159-episode arc, the second-longest after Hasselhoff, forged a bond with the lead actor and singer that inspired his own musical path. Kathleen Perricone, EW.com, 20 Mar. 2024 The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Beghe to talk about Voight’s two-episode arc that will continue on in the coming weeks. Demetrius Patterson, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2024 There are some issues with Paytas’ redemptive arc — namely, that many other creators who are more marginalized than she, and have pissed off far fewer people, would likely not be granted as many resurrections. Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2024 The 2024 eclipse's zone of totality will cut across several states, making a slight arc from Texas to Maine. Phaedra Trethan, USA TODAY, 16 Mar. 2024 The central summit area is marked by several elevated mesas forming an arc, reaching a regional high and sloping downhill away from the summit area. Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 15 Mar. 2024 That means that amid shifting desires by young people for travel and fun, seaside communities often have to confront their own histories and how those arc forward. Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Mar. 2024 While their male counterparts all experience different degrees of redemption, the women are there exclusively to serve those arcs. Courtney Howard, Variety, 13 Mar. 2024 There is no arc, nor character development, nor point, without anticlimactic intervention. Lauren Oyler, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2024
Verb
Wild kingdom The last time a total solar eclipse arced over the United States was in 2017. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024 The alignment is visible only within a narrow band, the path of totality, which will arc across North America on April 8. Katie Peek, Scientific American, 2 Feb. 2024 The Parisian river is the fifth-largest in France and winds directly through the heart of the country’s capital city, with dozens of famous bridges arcing over it. Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 29 Feb. 2024 The old tunnel follows a curvy track under Bolton Hill, Upton and Sandtown-Winchester while the new one will arc smoothly to the north under Reservoir Hill and Penn North before emerging near a new West Baltimore MARC station. Dillon Mullan, Baltimore Sun, 7 Feb. 2024 Virgin Galactic During about three minutes of weightlessness, as Unity arced over the top of its trajectory, the passengers were able to unstrap, float about the cabin and take in spectacular views of Earth far below, before returning to their seats for the plunge back into the lower atmosphere. William Harwood, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2024 The 196-foot-tall (60-meter) rocket arced toward the east through a clear sky, then jettisoned its five boosters to fall into the Atlantic Ocean. Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 11 Sep. 2023 According to Zack, a power line was arcing from the transformer to the breaker box of his home, shortly before the fire. Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Jan. 2024 Had things gone as planned, the spacecraft would have then arced back toward our planet and looped outward a second time for a lunar rendezvous. Michael Greshko, Scientific American, 19 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'arc.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English ark, from Anglo-French arc bow, from Latin arcus bow, arch, arc — more at arrow

Adjective

arc sine arc or angle (corresponding to the) sine (of so many degrees)

Abbreviation or noun

advanced reader copy

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1883, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

circa 1949, in the meaning defined above

Abbreviation Or Noun

2006, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of arc was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near arc

Cite this Entry

“Arc.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arc. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

arc

1 of 2 noun
1
a
: something curved
b
: a curved path
2
: a glowing flow of electricity across a gap in a circuit or between electrodes
3
: a continuous portion of a curved line (as part of the circumference of a circle)

arc

2 of 2 verb
1
: to form an electric arc
2
: to follow an arc-shaped course

Medical Definition

arc

1 of 2 noun
1
: an arched or curved anatomical part, distance, or pathway see reflex arc
2
: a sustained luminous discharge of electricity across a gap in a circuit or between electrodes

ARC

2 of 2 abbreviation
1
AIDS-related complex
2
American Red Cross

More from Merriam-Webster on arc

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