arc

\aʁk\

/\aʁk\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“arc” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #3,180 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#3,180
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Arme de trait servant à lancer des flèches, formée d’une branche de bois ou d’une verge, soit de métal, soit d’autre matière, courbée avec effort au moyen d’une corde qui s’attache aux deux extrémi...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

arc vs au
33% similar
arc vs As
0% similar
arc vs at
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for arc
PropertyValue
Headwordarc
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\aʁk\
Letters3
Frequency rank#3,180
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “arc” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). arc lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for arc is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \aʁk\. Corpus data places it at rank #3,180 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for arc, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "au", "As", "at", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is arc, spelled A-R-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Arme de trait servant à lancer des flèches, formée d’une branche de bois ou d’une verge, soit de métal, soit d’autre matière, courbée avec effort au moyen d’une corde qui s’attache aux deux extrémités.
  2. 2
    Portion définie d’une courbe.
  3. 3
    Coalition politique qui regroupe plusieurs partis dans l’hémicycle d'une assemblée politique.
  4. 4
    Construction de forme courbe dont les deux extrémités vont s’appuyer sur des points solides.
  5. 5
    Monument public ayant la forme d'une arche. → voir arc de triomphe
  6. 6
    Dans un graphe orienté, trait joignant un sommet à un autre.
  7. 7
    Décharge d’électricité qui produit une vive lumière.
  8. 8
    Meuble représentant l’arme du même nom dans les armoiries. Il est généralement représenté sans flèche, détendu et posé en fasce.

This word in other languages

bow(English)arco(Español)Bogen(Deutsch)arco(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "arc"?
"arc" is spelled A-R-C. The IPA pronunciation is \aʁk\.
What does "arc" mean?
As a noun, "arc" means: Arme de trait servant à lancer des flèches, formée d’une branche de bois ou d’une verge, soit de métal, soit d’autre matière, courbée avec effort au moyen d’une corde qui s’attache aux deux extrémi...
What words are commonly confused with "arc"?
"arc" is commonly confused with "au", "As", "at". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "arc"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "arc" is \aʁk\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "arc" come from?
"arc" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “arc”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is A-R-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \aʁk\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “au” - see the side-by-side comparison. arc vs au
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list