broad arrow

1. 1.

   an arrowhead mark identifying British government property

   Broadermarker
2. 2.

   a mark shaped like an arrowhead; used to mark convicts' clothing

   Broadermark
3. 3.

   an arrow with a wide barbed head

   Broaderarrow

Questions about broad arrow

What does broad arrow mean?

broad arrow means "an arrowhead mark identifying British government property". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

Is broad arrow a common word?

broad arrow is banded "Familiar" — widely understood, used when the subject calls for it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.