overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

arrow.

A projectile consisting of a shaft, a point and a tail with stabilizing fins that is shot from a bow.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈæ.ɹəʊ/Received-Pronunciation[ˈæ.ɹəʊ̯]Received-Pronunciation[ˈa.ɹəw]British, Southern, Standard/ˈæ.ɹoʊ/

  1. A projectile consisting of a shaft, a point and a tail with stabilizing fins that is shot from a bow.

  2. A sign or symbol used to indicate a direction (e.g.→).

  3. A directed edge.

  4. A morphism.

  5. A dart.

    colloquial

  6. The -> symbol, which has specific meanings in various programming languages.

  7. The inflorescence or tassel of a mature sugar cane plant.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English arwe, from Old English earh (“arrow”) (oblique form ēarw-), from Proto-West Germanic *arhu (“arrow”), from Proto-Germanic *arhwō (“arrow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂érkʷo- (“bow, arrow”). Cognate with Faroese ørv, ørvur (“arrow”), Icelandic ör (“arrow”), örvar (“arrows”), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐍈𐌰𐌶𐌽𐌰 (arƕazna, “dart”), Asturian and Leonese arcu (“bow”), Aragonese, Galician, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish arco (“bow”), Catalan, French, and Romanian arc (“bow”), Latin arcus (“bow”). Doublet of arch, arc, arco, and arcus.

verb/ˈæ.ɹəʊ/Received-Pronunciation[ˈæ.ɹəʊ̯]Received-Pronunciation[ˈa.ɹəw]British, Southern, Standard/ˈæ.ɹoʊ/

  1. To move swiftly and directly (like an arrow).

    intransitive

  2. To let fly swiftly and directly.

    transitive

  3. To develop an inflorescence.

    intransitive

  4. To navigate using the arrow keys.

    intransitive
    Arrow left until you reach the start of the text you want to delete.

  5. To single out or nominate (someone) to be responsible for something, especially an undesirable task.

    Singapore · Singlish · transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English arwe, from Old English earh (“arrow”) (oblique form ēarw-), from Proto-West Germanic *arhu (“arrow”), from Proto-Germanic *arhwō (“arrow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂érkʷo- (“bow, arrow”). Cognate with Faroese ørv, ørvur (“arrow”), Icelandic ör (“arrow”), örvar (“arrows”), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐍈𐌰𐌶𐌽𐌰 (arƕazna, “dart”), Asturian and Leonese arcu (“bow”), Aragonese, Galician, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish arco (“bow”), Catalan, French, and Romanian arc (“bow”), Latin arcus (“bow”). Doublet of arch, arc, arco, and arcus.

contraction/ˈæ.ɹəʊ/Received-Pronunciation[ˈæ.ɹəʊ̯]Received-Pronunciation[ˈa.ɹəw]British, Southern, Standard/ˈæ.ɹoʊ/

  1. Contraction of ever + a, sometimes used with a redundant a or an.

    abbreviation · alt-of · contraction · obsolete
Where this word comes from

Representing pronunciation.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

arrow has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

arrow studioarrow workshello, arrow

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.