arrow

arrow — noun

1. a long, narrow stick fired from a bow, with a sharp metal tip on the front end a

1.nounB1
Definition

a long, narrow stick fired from a bow, with a sharp metal tip on the front end and small feathers fixed to the back end, used as a weapon or in archery sports.

Example

Robin Hood pulled an arrow from his quiver and aimed at the apple.

collocation: pull / fire / shoot an arrow

The arrow struck the wooden target right in the centre.

subject role: arrow + verb of impact

Common collocations
  • a quiver of arrows
  • shoot an arrow
  • fire an arrow
  • draw an arrow
  • a sharp arrow
Synonyms
  • bolt

    specifically the short arrow used with a crossbow

  • dart

    shorter projectile, usually thrown by hand or blown from a tube

  • shaft

    literary; refers to the long body of the arrow or the arrow as a whole

Grammar Patterns

shoot an arrow

fire an arrow

Usage Note

Almost always countable and concrete. Distinguish from sense 2 (the printed sign): you fire or shoot sense 1, but you follow or read sense 2.

Common Mistakes

He shot the bow at the target.
He shot an arrow from the bow at the target.
you fire the arrow, not the bow itself.

2. a printed or drawn shape (→) made of a line with a small triangle at one end, us

2.nounB1
Definition

a printed or drawn shape (→) made of a line with a small triangle at one end, used on signs, screens, or maps to show which way to go or which thing to look at.

Example

Follow the green arrows on the floor to find the exit.

collocation: follow the arrows

A big red arrow on the map showed where the treasure was buried.

Common collocations
  • follow the arrows
  • an arrow pointing to
  • a red arrow
  • an arrow on the screen
Synonyms
  • pointer

    often the on-screen cursor or a stick used to point at things

  • marker

    broader; any sign or symbol that marks a place, not only direction

Grammar Patterns

follow the arrows

an arrow pointing to / at

Usage Note

Object is usually flat (a sign, screen, paper, or map), not a real object you can hold. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense never takes verbs like 'shoot' or 'fire'.

Common Mistakes

I shot the arrow on the screen to open the menu.
I clicked the arrow on the screen to open the menu.
sense 2 (the sign) is read or clicked, not shot.

Word family

  • arrowhead
    nounB2
  • archer
    nounB2
  • archery
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four name a long, pointed object that travels through the air, but the launcher and the size are different. An arrow is the standard projectile shot from a bow, slim and feathered at the back. A bolt is shorter and heavier, made specifically for a crossbow, so a hunter loading a crossbow uses bolts, not arrows. A dart is much smaller and is usually thrown by hand or blown from a tube — think of the darts thrown at a pub board, or the small darts a vet uses to put an animal to sleep. A javelin is far longer and thicker, thrown by an athlete at a track meet, never shot from a weapon. So: bow → arrow, crossbow → bolt, hand → dart or javelin.

arrow ↗bolt ↗dart ↗javelin

Common collocations

Nouns

  • bow and arrow
  • tip of the arrow
  • quiver of arrows
  • arrow key

Adverbs

Phrases

  • as straight as an arrow
  • a bow and arrow

Prepositions

  • from (a bow)
  • into (a target)
  • at (someone)

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

Comes from Old English 'arwe' or 'earh', meaning the wooden shooting stick used with a bow. The Old English word goes back to a Germanic root linked to the idea of a 'bow weapon', and shares an even older ancestor with Latin 'arcus' (bow). The 'sign or symbol' meaning is much later — it grew naturally in the modern period because the printed shape (→) looks like a real arrow in flight.