arrow

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noun

ar·​row ˈer-(ˌ)ō How to pronounce arrow (audio)
ˈa-(ˌ)rō
plural arrows
Synonyms of arrownext
1
: a missile shot from a bow and usually having a slender shaft, a pointed head, and feathers at the butt
2
: something shaped like an arrow
especially : a mark (as on a map or signboard) to indicate direction
3
: a painful or damaging experience or occurrence that is likened to being shot with an arrow
… to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune …—William Shakespeare

Illustration of arrow

Illustration of arrow
  • arrow 1

arrow

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verb

arrowed; arrowing; arrows
1
a
intransitive : to move fast and straight like an arrow in flight
Just below us, a hunting peregrine falcon arrowed across the sere fields …—Tom Mueller
b
transitive : to hit or throw (something) toward a target fast and straight like an arrow
Mia Hamm … doesn't even look up as she arrows a pass to her teammate with almost telepathic confidence.—David Hirshey
2
transitive chiefly US : to shoot (an animal) with an arrow
In the spring, only boy turkeys can be shot or arrowed.—Fred LeBrun

Examples of arrow in a Sentence

Noun The arrow on the map points north.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Listen to this article Four Chicago teens are charged with killing a coyote pup by shooting it with a bow and arrow, then stomping it to death in an incident that has a neighborhood reeling. —Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 28 Jan. 2025 His claim he was shot by a tribal arrow right into a life-saving Bible in his front shirt pocket is part of the lore, true or not. —Pete Hammond, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2025
Verb
The video starts with Rice passing to Saka on the right, before stepping forward to arrow a left-footed diagonal to the opposite flank. —Stuart James, The Athletic, 30 Apr. 2024 While still relying on the brand's key Flying D logo, the 2023 FX highlights arrow graphics on the frame, meant to indicate the power concentration in the middle of the racket. —Tim Newcomb, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2023 See all Example Sentences for arrow 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English arwe, arowe, going back to Old English earh (strong noun, probably neuter), arwe, arewe (weak feminine noun), going back to Germanic *arhwō- "arrow," presumably originally an adjectival derivative "belonging to the bow" (whence also Old Icelandic ǫr, genitive ǫrvar "arrow," and, with an additional suffix, Gothic arhwazna), going back to dialectal Indo-European *arkw- "bow," whence also Latin arcus "bow, rainbow, arch"

Note: See the Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, for details of the Old and Middle English developments. The editors point out that earh is a rare poetic word, occurring mainly in the compound earhfaru "flight of arrows," the more usual older words for "arrow" being strǣl and flā; the popularity of arwe in later Old English prose may have resulted from influence of the Old Norse word. — The etymon *arkw- "bow" (*h2erkw- if *a is excluded as a possible vowel) has been compared with various names for plants, as Greek árkeuthos "juniper (Juniperus macrocarpa)," Russian rakíta (for *rokíta by vowel reduction) "the willow Salix fragilis," Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian ràkita "osier (Salix viminalis)" (both from Slavic *orkyta), Latvian ẽrcis "juniper." The presumed connection would be from the use of wood from these small trees as material for bows, though this is questionable (especially in the case of willows). In any case both sets of words appear to be of substratal origin.

Verb

derivative of arrow entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1827, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of arrow was before the 12th century

Phrases Containing arrow

Dictionary Entries Near arrow

arrondissement

arrow

arrow arum

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Arrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arrow. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.

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Kids Definition

arrow

noun
ar·​row
ˈar-ō
1
: a weapon that is made to be shot from a bow and is usually a stick with a point at one end and feathers at the other
2
: a mark (as on a map) to show direction
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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