arc up

Australia/ɑːk ap/

verb

To become upset or angry.

First used 20th c.
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbarc up (third-person singular simple present arcs up, present participle arcing up, simple past and past participle arced up)

present singular third person arcs up · participle present arcing up · participle past arced up · past arced up

  1. AustraliaintransitiveslangTo become upset or angry.First known use 20th c.

    Tiger went, ‘Ooo! He's arcing up here, Annabelle.’

    2002, Alex Miller, Journey to the Stone Country, Allen & Unwin, published 2003, page 316

Origin

Thought to be from electrical arcs created when starting/booting/arcing up an electrical device.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 生氣 /生气, 火大
  • 生氣 /生气 (shēngqì)become upset or angry
  • 火大 (huǒdà)become upset or angry
Finnish suuttua
  • suuttuabecome upset or angry
Portuguese irritar-se
  • irritar-sebecome upset or angry
Cite this entry
APA

arc up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arc%20up

MLA

“arc up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arc%20up. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “arc up,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arc%20up.

Source: arc up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.