ARCTIC

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Arctic mean? 

• ARCTIC (noun)
  The noun ARCTIC has 2 senses:

1. the regions to the north of the Arctic Circle centered on the North Pole

2. a waterproof overshoe that protects shoes from water or snow

  Familiarity information: ARCTIC used as a noun is rare.

• ARCTIC (adjective)
  The adjective ARCTIC has 2 senses:

1. of or relating to the Arctic

2. extremely cold

  Familiarity information: ARCTIC used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ARCTIC (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The regions to the north of the Arctic Circle centered on the North Pole

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

Arctic; Arctic Zone; North Frigid Zone

Instance hypernyms:

Frigid Zone; polar region; polar zone (the part of the Earth's surface forming a cap over a pole; characterized by frigid climate)

Derivation:

Arctic (of or relating to the Arctic)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A waterproof overshoe that protects shoes from water or snow

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

arctic; galosh; golosh; gumshoe; rubber

Hypernyms ("arctic" is a kind of...):

overshoe (footwear that protects your shoes from water or snow or cold)

• ARCTIC (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or relating to the Arctic

Synonyms:

Arctic; north-polar

Context example:

the Arctic summer

Similar:

polar (of or existing at or near a geographical pole or within the Arctic or Antarctic Circles)

Derivation:

Arctic (the regions to the north of the Arctic Circle centered on the North Pole)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Extremely cold

Synonyms:

arctic; frigid; gelid; glacial; icy; polar

Context example:

polar weather

Similar:

cold (having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration)

 Context examples 

The study, led by scientists at the University of California, Davis, reports that the Arctic has warmed by 0.75 degrees Celsius in the last decade alone.

(Warming at the poles will have global consequences, National Science Foundation)

A general term for a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada, Greenland, Russia and the United States.

(Inuit, NCI Thesaurus)

In a recent paper Mills asks how evolution has shaped the coat color trait for multiple species around the world, from hares to weasels to arctic fox.

(Twenty-one species adapted to disappear in the snow. Then, the snow disappeared, National Science Foundation)

Arctic sea ice shrinks every year during the spring and summer until it reaches its minimum yearly extent.

(Arctic Sea Ice Annual Minimum Ties Second Lowest on Record, NASA)

The Arctic Report Card is a peer-reviewed report that brings together the work of 85 scientists from 12 nations.

(World Meteorological Org.: Arctic Warming Appears Irreversible, VOA)

An island between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Canada.

(Greenland, NCI Thesaurus)

We knew Arctic sea ice was decreasing, but the snow cover has become so thin that its shield has become a veil.

(Snow cover on Arctic Sea ice has thinned 30 to 50 percent, NASA)

NASA's multiyear Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE) is the first experiment to establish emission rates for a large region of the Arctic.

(Alaska Shows No Signs of Rising Arctic Methane, NASA)

The native people inhabiting the Arctic of northern Canada, Greenland, Alaska, or eastern Siberia.

(Eskimo, NCI Thesaurus)

This circulation pattern is known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and it’s an important player in the global climate, regulating weather patterns in the Arctic, Europe, and around the world.

(A new study is the first to measure the time lags between changing ocean currents and major climate shifts., University of Cambridge)