arrows

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of arrow.

   She pulled two arrows from the target and inspected the tips.

   The map was covered in red arrows tracing the army's advance.

   Note

   A regular plural that carries every noun meaning of arrow at once: shafts shot from a bow, the → signs on a map, and, in mathematics, directed edges and morphisms. Informally, a set of darts can be arrows, and programmers speak of arrows for the -> symbol. The same spelling is also the present-tense verb, so context decides: the arrows is a noun, it arrows a verb.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   Short, slender darts with feathers fixed at the ends, used as projectiles shot from a bow.

   A volley of arrows rained down on the castle wall at dawn.

   The herald's banner bore two crossed arrows beneath a golden crown.

   Note

   On a coat of arms, arrows are a charge, a picture borne on the shield rather than a weapon in flight. Heraldic arrows are drawn as short darts with feathered ends. They are often shown crossed or gathered in a sheaf, and the feathered flight and barbed head may be painted in a tincture that contrasts with the shaft. Read a blazon this way and the word names part of a design.

3. 3
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of arrow.

   The quarterback arrows a pass to the open receiver in the end zone.

   Sugarcane usually arrows in the fall, sending up a tall, feathery plume of flowers.

   Note

   The -s form that follows he, she, it or a singular noun serves both sides of the verb. Used without an object, a swallow arrows across a pond. With an object, a pitcher arrows a fastball past the batter. A sugarcane field arrows when it flowers, and a user arrows down a menu with the arrow keys. In Singapore English, someone who arrows a colleague hands them an unwanted task.

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