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Geometry. any unbroken part of the circumference of a circle or other curved line.
Also called electric arc. Electricity. a luminous bridge formed in a gap between two electrodes.
Compare 1 (def 2).
Astronomy. the part of a circle representing the apparent course of a heavenly body.
anything bow-shaped.
to form an .
to move in a curve suggestive of an arc.
Contemporary Examples

I looked down at it, and this rope of blood just went [makes a shooting sound and an arcing motion through the air].
The Knife Master Melissa Vaughn, Brendan Vaughn October 10, 2010

That afternoon, on a hunch, Ray Molina, a longtime friend who lived in New Mexico, followed an arcing route south from the lodge.
The Final Run of Ultra-Marathoner Micah True Nick Heil May 18, 2012

He later identified the occurrence in psychic literature as supernatural “arcing.”
Ghostbusters Is Real! Benjamin Sarlin October 25, 2009

Historical Examples

But the bolt caromed harmlessly off the side of the arcing Star Devil!
Hawk Carse Anthony Gilmore

The sun was far below the horizon when it was finished, and the glowing, arcing forces that had made and formed it were stopped.
The Last Evolution John Wood Campbell

And then there was the smell of burned insulation and a wire was arcing somewhere, while thick rubbery smoke arose.
The Fifth-Dimension Tube William Fitzgerald Jenkins

Its resistance fell, the arcing decreased; the beam became orange and finally green.
The Last Evolution John Wood Campbell

Now the blue fireball was arcing down over the hillside, trailing its orange-red comet tail.
Tom Swift and The Visitor from Planet X Victor Appleton

It is better to have switches of some excess capacity, as the heavy metal stands the arcing much better.
Motion Picture Operation, Stage Electrics and Illusions Henry C. Horstmann

noun
something curved in shape
part of an unbroken curved line
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
(astronomy) a circular section of the apparent path of a celestial body
(maths) a section of a curve, graph, or geometric figure
verb arcs, arcing, arced, arcs, arcking, arcked
(intransitive) to form an arc
prefix
(maths) specifying an inverse trigonometric function: usually written arcsin, arctan, arcsec, etc, or sometimes sin–1, tan–1, sec–1, etc
abbreviation
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
n.

late 14c., originally in reference to the sun’s apparent motion in the sky, from Old French arc “bow, arch, vault” (12c.), from Latin arcus “a bow, arch,” from PIE root *arku- “bowed, curved” (cf. Gothic arhvazna “arrow,” Old English earh, Old Norse ör; also, via notion of “supple, flexible,” Greek arkeuthos, Latvian ercis “juniper,” Russian rakita, Czech rokyta, Serbo-Croatian rakita “brittle willow”). Electrical sense is from 1821.
v.

1893, in the electrical sense, from arc (n.). Meaning “to move in an arc” attested by 1954. Related: Arced; arcing.

arc (ärk)
n.
A curved line or segment of a circle.

ARC abbr.
AIDS-related complex
arc
(ärk)

A segment of a circle.

See electric arc.

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Addiction Research Center
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AIDS-related complex
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American Red Cross
[National Aeronautics and Space Administration] Ames Research Center
Appalachian Regional Commission