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).
v.
intr.
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.]
![[P]](http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium_mh.gif){kind=small}
