arrow

/ˈæɹ.əʊ/

//ˈæɹ.əʊ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"arrow" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“arrow” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,758. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,758
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A projectile consisting of a shaft, a point and a tail with stabilizing fins that is shot from a bow.

Corpus desk

Index EN-arrow · arrow · English

arrow · rank #5,758 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,758
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH applicable

Nearest frequency peer: applicable (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “arrow”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “arrow” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

arrow vs arson
60% similar
arrow vs arrows
83% similar
arrow vs arroyo
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for arrow
PropertyValue
Headwordarrow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæɹ.əʊ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,758
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “arrow”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).arrowlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “applicable” (#5,757), “availability” (#5,759), “alike” (#5,756). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “arrow” is #5,758. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around arrow (IPA /ˈæɹ.əʊ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,758 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for arrow, with forms such as "arorw", "arow", and "arroww". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "arson", "arrows", "arroyo", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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”), Ice… The correct English form is arrow, spelled A-R-R-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    A projectile consisting of a shaft, a point and a tail with stabilizing fins that is shot from a bow.
  2. 2
    A sign or symbol used to indicate a direction (e.g.→).
  3. 3
    A directed edge.
  4. 4
    A morphism.
  5. 5
    A dart.
  6. 6
    The -> symbol, which has specific meanings in various programming languages.
  7. 7
    The inflorescence or tassel of a mature sugar cane plant.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how arrow appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The Citizens in their rage, imagining that euery poſt in the Churche had bin one of yᵉ Souldyers, ſhot habbe or nabbe at randon^([sic – meaning random]) uppe to the Roode lofte, and to the Chancell, leauing ſome of theyr arrowes ſticking in the Images.
  2. Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.

Etymology

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 (“arrow”), Aragonese, Galician, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish arco (“arrow”), Catalan, French, and Romanian arc (“arrow”), Latin arcus (“bow”). Doublet of arch, arc, arco, and arcus.

Synonyms

strealarcdirected edge

This word in other languages

flecha(Español)flèche(Français)Pfeil(Deutsch)flecha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • arorw
  • arow
  • arroww
  • arrwo
  • rarow

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of arrow - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

arorw2arow1arroww1arrwo2rarow2
Edit distance from "arrow"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "arrow"?
"arrow" is spelled A-R-R-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæɹ.əʊ/.
What does "arrow" mean?
As a noun, "arrow" means: A projectile consisting of a shaft, a point and a tail with stabilizing fins that is shot from a bow.
What words are commonly confused with "arrow"?
"arrow" is commonly confused with "arson", "arrows", "arroyo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "arrow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "arrow" is /ˈæɹ.əʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "arrow"?
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 (“ar... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "arrow", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

alike#5,756cabin#5,765Tours#5,745sweat#5,739

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

cage5 variantsCuba5 variantspile5 variantsvisa5 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list