n.
- A structure, especially one of masonry, forming the curved, pointed, or flat upper edge of an open space and supporting the weight above it, as in a bridge or doorway.
- A structure, such as a freestanding monument, shaped like an inverted U.
- A curve with the ends down and the middle up: the arch of a raised eyebrow.
- Anatomy. An organ or structure having a curved or bowlike appearance, especially either of two arched sections of the bony structure of the foot.
v., arched, arch·ing, arch·es. v.tr.
- To provide with an arch: arch a passageway.
- To cause to form an arch or similar curve.
- To bend backward: The dancers alternately arched and hunched their backs.
- To span: "the rude bridge that arched the flood" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
To form an arch or archlike curve: The high fly ball arched toward the stands.
[Middle English, from Old French arche, from Vulgar Latin *arca, from Latin arcus.]
arch2 (ärch)
adj.
- Chief; principal: their arch foe.
- Mischievous; roguish: an arch glance.
[From ARCH-1.]
archly arch'ly adv.archness arch'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
