arctic
/ˈɑɹ(k).tɪk/adjective, noun
arctic is spelled A-R-C-T-I-C: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,784th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, arctic means “Alternative letter-case form of Arctic” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in arctic?
| Letters | 6: A-R-C-T-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,784th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is arctic?
Arctic appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,784th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce arctic?
- UK /ˈɑː(k).tɪk/
- US /ˈɑɹ(k).tɪk/
Arctic has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-arctic.wav, En-us-Arctic.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with arctic?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as arctic from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹtɪk/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of arctic
- arctics plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does arctic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of Arctic.
adjective
- 1
Pertaining to the celestial north pole, or to the pole star.
- 2
Pertaining to the northern polar region of the planet, characterised by extreme cold and an icy landscape.
- 3
Extremely cold, snowy, or having other properties of extreme winter associated with the climate of the Arctic.
- 4
Designed for use in very cold conditions.
Arctic gear
noun
- 1
USA warm waterproof overshoe.
- 2
Any of various butterflies of the genus Oeneis.
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of Arctic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Arctic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | arctique |
| German | arktisch |
| Portuguese | ártico , glacial |
| Spanish | ártico, árctico , glacial |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does arctic come from?
From Middle English artik, artyk (with the c reintroduced after Latin in the 17th century), from Medieval Latin articus, from Latin arcticus, from Ancient Greek ἀρκτικός (arktikós, “northern, of the (Great) Bear”), from ἄρκτος (árktos, “bear, Ursa Major”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos (“bear”). Cognate with Latin ursus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).