Answer:
It returns the angle whose cosine is a given number.
Explanation:
For every trigonometry function, there is an inverse function that works in reverse. These inverse functions have the same name but with 'arc' in front. (On some calculators the arccos button may be labeled arccos, or sometimes cos-1.) So the inverse of cos is arccos etc. When we see "arccos x", we understand it as "the angle whose cosine is x"
cos30 = 0.866 Means: The cosine of 30 degrees is 0.866
arccos 0.866 = 30 Means: The angle whose cosine is 0.866 is 30 degrees.
Use arccos when you know the cosine of an angle and want to know the actual angle.