a long, thin stick with a sharp metal or stone tip and feathers at the back that is shot from a bow as a weapon or in the sport of archery
At the archery range, Maria pulled an arrow from her quiver and aimed at the target.
A museum display case showed a Viking arrow with a broad iron head.
✦ Old English "aru" from Proto-Germanic *arhwaz, related to Old Norse "ör" and Latin "arcus" (bow)
a simple sign shaped like an arrowhead and tail, used on signs, screens, or drawings to show direction, movement, or position
Follow the green arrow painted on the wall to reach the exit.
On the map, a red arrow shows where we are.
✦ Extension of the weapon sense because the sign’s pointed head resembles the tip of an arrow
to move very quickly and straight in one direction, like an arrow shot from a bow
The express train arrowed past the small station without stopping.
A dolphin arrowed through the sparkling waves toward the fishing boat.
✦ Verbal use from the noun, first recorded in the 1800s, drawing on the image of an arrow’s swift, straight flight
limited in variety, scope, or amount
He has a narrow view of the world and never travels.
The study focused on a narrow group of participants.
to become or make something less wide, or to reduce the number or range of things
The river narrowed as it approached the canyon.
We need to narrow the list of candidates to three.
