arcarc /ɑːk $ ɑːrk/ ●○○ noun [countable] 
Word Origin
the arc of a rainbow2part of a curved line or a circle: The Sun moves across the sky in an arc.3a flash of light formed by the flow of electricity between two points—arc verb [intransitive]
Word OriginWORD ORIGINarc
ExamplesOrigin:
1300-1400 Old French, Latin arcus ‘bow, arch, arc’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
word sets- The islands lie in an arc in the eastern Caribbean.
- One often meets graphs in which the arcs have names too.
- Out past the northern arc of the perimeter highway, comfortable subdivisions have been carved under a leafy canopy.
- They may also be decorated with dots, arcs, circles, triangles, stamped, notched or bear incised lines.
WORD SETS► Electrical
Collocationsalternator, nounarc, nounblow, verbcapacitor, nouncathode, nouncell, nouncharge, nouncharge, verbcharger, nouncircuit, nouncircuit board, nouncircuit breaker, nouncircuitry, nouncoil, nouncondenser, nounconnection, nouncontact, nouncord, nouncordless, adjectivecurrent, nounDC, dimmer, noundirect current, noundischarge, verbdischarge, nounE, earth, nounearth, verbelectric, adjectiveelectrician, nounelectricity, nounelectrics, nounelectrode, nounelectronic, adjectiveelectronics, nounfuel cell, nounfuse, verbfuse box, nounfused, adjectivegrid, nounlive, adjectivelive wire, nounmagic eye, nounmagneto, nounnegative, adjectiveneutral, adjectivenoise, nounoscillate, verboscillator, nounoutlet, nounphotoelectric, adjectivephotoelectric cell, nounpin, nounplug, nounpoint, nounpre-set, adjectiveprinted circuit, nounprogramme, nounprogramme, verbpulse, nounremote control, nounresistance, nounresistor, nounscan, verbscanner, nounshort, nounshort, verbshort circuit, nounshort-circuit, verbsocket, nounsolid-state, adjectivesonar, nounsuperconductivity, nounsuperconductor, nounterminal, nountime switch, nountoggle switch, nountorch, nountransformer, nountransistor, nounvacuum tube, nounvalve, nounW, wire, nounwiring, nounzapper, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE► great
Phrases· The foods which we are advised to eat in greater quantities arc those supplying dietary fibre.· Unlike on Earth, most of the visible features on the Moon are circles or great arcs constituting parts of circles.· Upon a network of metals, lighted by great arc lamps, the workers here deal not with packages but with trucks.· And so they are: a valley view looking across and up at - a great arc of high peaks.
► long· A dizzyingly long way below lay a long, deep arc of white-powder sand.· At 7: 30 the choppers banked in a long arc and approached the hamlet of Thuan Yen from the southwest.· I found myself wanting longer and longer times of quiet, longer arcs of contemplation.· In a long, flat arc, he descended toward the surface of Japetus.· Gliding in long arcs, she swings below the moon and the guy wires before landing in the grass.· She lets the ball go in a long arc, pushing from the wrist.
► volcanic· Volcanicity and magma emplacement, largely in the form of large granite intrusions, characterize the volcanic arc.· Between the outer-arc ridge and the volcanic arc a forearc basin may be formed.· A complicated pattern of basins and ridges hind the volcanic arc.· Convergent boundaries between oceanic lithosphere are marked by an oceanic trench, a volcanic island arc and a Wadati-Benioff zone.· Back-arc spreading may be initiated within the volcanic arc because the high heat flux from below weakens the lithosphere.· This maintains a shallow angle of subduction beneath the outer arc but steepens below the main volcanic arc to about 60°.
► wide· Huge semi-circular feathers in dazzling hues sprang vertically before sweeping in wide arcs to the ground.
NOUN► island· One very obvious form is the volcanism of island arcs and continental-margin orogens associated with plate convergence.· The second category is closely related to oceanic trenches and their associated island arcs or mountain belts.· Where oceanic lithosphere is subducted beneath another oceanic part of a plate the associated volcanic activity and produce an intra-oceanic island arc.· In most island arcs only a relatively small proportion of the individual volcanoes actually rise above sea level.· Such back-arc spreading is analogous to that encountered behind some intra-oceanic island arcs.· Unless the island arc is subducted it will be accreted to the continental-margin orogen previously formed along the edge of the continent.· Convergent boundaries between oceanic lithosphere are marked by an oceanic trench, a volcanic island arc and a Wadati-Benioff zone.
► lamp· And the projector's arc lamps were not so much set as sunset, through a fog.· The light from the launderette had shone upon him like an arc lamp.
VERB► describe· Chen saw the knife describe an arc through the air and felt himself flinch.· Rekindled and re-leased with a shove, the chandelier began to swing again, describing a larger arc this time.· Though the tarmac takes a smooth U-turn on to the next straight, rider and machine will not describe such a graceful arc.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► describe a circle/an arc etc
1a curved shape or line: - Chen saw the knife describe an arc through the air and felt himself flinch.
the arc of a rainbow2part of a curved line or a circle: The Sun moves across the sky in an arc.3a flash of light formed by the flow of electricity between two points—arc verb [intransitive]