arced

1. 1
   verb

   Past tense and past participle of arc.

   The rocket arced over the bay before dropping into the sea.

   Faulty wiring had arced inside the panel, leaving scorch marks around the breaker.

   Note

   The form carries every use of the verb: something traveling a curve (the ball arced over the fence), something bent into one (the branch was arced into a hoop), and current jumping a gap (the cable had arced). That electrical use never takes an object, while the moving use can, as when a player arced the ball over a wall. The same spelling also serves as the adjective meaning curved.

2. 2
   adjective

   Having the shape of an arc; curved like an arch.

   She drew a row of arced lines across the bottom of the page to suggest waves.

   The footbridge has a gently arced deck that rises over the creek.

   Similarcurved, arched, bowed, curving

   Oppositestraight

   Note

   A participle that has settled into a describing word, and it compares the long way: more arced, most arced, as in a more arced line. It names a finished shape rather than a motion, so it pairs easily with other words for strokes and lines, such as arced or swirled lines in a tattoo design. Arched is its close equivalent.

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