Word.ws English Dictionary

broad arrow

broad arrow noun: a metal arrowhead, comprising a tang and two barbs meeting at a point; used traditionally in heraldry, and later by the British government to mark government property and convict uniforms.

broad arrow: a metal arrowhead, comprising a tang and two barbs meeting at a point; used traditionally in...
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Noun

broad arrow (plural broad arrows)

  1. (A stylized representation of) a metal arrowhead, comprising a tang and two barbs meeting at a point; used traditionally in heraldry, and later by the British government to mark government property and convict uniforms.
    • Their boats were manned by convicts, dressed in prison clothing, freely decorated with numbers and emblazoned all over with the ominous broad arrow.1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 197
  2. (historical) An arrow fitted with this arrowhead.
    • It was his ill fate, to be a ſleepe, as old Abbas was going a hunting within the path, the King ſaw him not, but his pamperd horſe ſlartled at him, whereat immediatly the King ſent a broad Arrow into the poore mans heart, and ere all his followers had paſt, the man was kild a hundred times ouer, if...1634, T[homas] H[erbert], “The Ambassadours entertainment by the King of Persia”, in A Relation of Some Yeares Trauaile, Begunne Anno 1626. into Afrique and the Greater Asia, […], London: […] William...
    • Broad arrows, frequently mentioned in Scotland as a blanche ferme, were fired from the short bow and had a swallow tail or broad head with two large barbs sloping backwards towards the shaft.1979, John M[athewson] Gilbert, “Hunting and Hawking”, in Hunting and Hunting Reserves in Medieval Scotland, Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers Ltd, →ISBN, section A (Introductory Narrative), page 62

Synonyms of broad arrow

Forms of broad arrow

pluralbroad arrows

Origin of broad arrow

From Middle English brodarwe, brode arewe, brood arowe.

Questions about broad arrow

What does broad arrow mean?
Broad arrow means a metal arrowhead, comprising a tang and two barbs meeting at a point; used traditionally in heraldry, and later by the British government to mark government property and convict uniforms.
What part of speech is broad arrow?
Broad arrow is a noun.
What is the plural of broad arrow?
The plural of broad arrow is broad arrows.

Words near broad arrow in the dictionary

  1. broad acres
  2. broad across the beam
  3. broad and shallow
  4. broad antigen
  5. broad antigens
  6. broad arrow
  7. broad arrowhead
  8. broad arrowheads
  9. broad arrows
  10. broad awake
  11. broad bean

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: broad arrow (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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