"broken arrow" meaning in English

See broken arrow in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: broken arrows [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun}} broken arrow (plural broken arrows)
  1. (technical) A callout marker that consists of a dashed line with an arrowhead.
    Sense id: en-broken_arrow-en-noun-bD7Rs8tA Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 55 42 3 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 54 43 3 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 56 41 3 Topics: engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, technical
  2. (US, military, historical) Any of a series of accidental nuclear events in the Cold War, involving nuclear weapons or warheads fallen from aircrafts, which could have triggered a nuclear war. Tags: US, historical
    Sense id: en-broken_arrow-en-noun-ZU8m7t9H Categories (other): American English, Military Topics: government, military, politics, war
  3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see broken, arrow.
    Sense id: en-broken_arrow-en-noun-51ucRmiI

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "broken arrows",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "broken arrow (plural broken arrows)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "55 42 3",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 43 3",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "56 41 3",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              2,
              14
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2003, Thomas W. Hungerford, Algebra, →ISBN, page 371:",
          "text": "A broken arrow A - - -> B indicates that an occasional result of Section A is used in Section B, but that Section B is essentially independent of Section A.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              74,
              86
            ],
            [
              295,
              307
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2012, Diana Gaitini, Musculoskeletal Ultrasound, An Issue of Ultrasound Clinics, →ISBN:",
          "text": "Longitudinal scan of focal thickening and disruption of the median nerve (broken arrow), at the level volar to the distal radius, in keeping with scarring from prior trauma. (F) Sagittal proton density MR image of nonspecific thickening of the 2. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 3. 4. median nerve (broken arrow), with a similar configuration.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              138,
              150
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2014, Richard W. Nelson, C. Guillermo Couto, Small Animal Internal Medicine, →ISBN, page 761:",
          "text": "Note that the uptake of pertechnetate (i.e., darkness) is comparable between the two thyroid lobes (solid arrow) and the salivary glands (broken arrow).",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A callout marker that consists of a dashed line with an arrowhead."
      ],
      "id": "en-broken_arrow-en-noun-bD7Rs8tA",
      "links": [
        [
          "technical",
          "technical"
        ],
        [
          "callout",
          "callout"
        ],
        [
          "dashed",
          "dashed"
        ],
        [
          "line",
          "line"
        ],
        [
          "arrowhead",
          "arrowhead"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(technical) A callout marker that consists of a dashed line with an arrowhead."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "engineering",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences",
        "technical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Military",
          "orig": "en:Military",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any of a series of accidental nuclear events in the Cold War, involving nuclear weapons or warheads fallen from aircrafts, which could have triggered a nuclear war."
      ],
      "id": "en-broken_arrow-en-noun-ZU8m7t9H",
      "links": [
        [
          "military",
          "military"
        ],
        [
          "accidental",
          "accidental"
        ],
        [
          "nuclear",
          "nuclear"
        ],
        [
          "Cold War",
          "Cold War"
        ],
        [
          "nuclear weapon",
          "nuclear weapon"
        ],
        [
          "warhead",
          "warhead"
        ],
        [
          "aircraft",
          "aircraft"
        ],
        [
          "nuclear war",
          "nuclear war"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, military, historical) Any of a series of accidental nuclear events in the Cold War, involving nuclear weapons or warheads fallen from aircrafts, which could have triggered a nuclear war."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "historical"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "government",
        "military",
        "politics",
        "war"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see broken, arrow."
      ],
      "id": "en-broken_arrow-en-noun-51ucRmiI",
      "links": [
        [
          "broken",
          "broken#English"
        ],
        [
          "arrow",
          "arrow#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "broken arrow"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "broken arrows",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "broken arrow (plural broken arrows)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English technical terms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              2,
              14
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2003, Thomas W. Hungerford, Algebra, →ISBN, page 371:",
          "text": "A broken arrow A - - -> B indicates that an occasional result of Section A is used in Section B, but that Section B is essentially independent of Section A.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              74,
              86
            ],
            [
              295,
              307
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2012, Diana Gaitini, Musculoskeletal Ultrasound, An Issue of Ultrasound Clinics, →ISBN:",
          "text": "Longitudinal scan of focal thickening and disruption of the median nerve (broken arrow), at the level volar to the distal radius, in keeping with scarring from prior trauma. (F) Sagittal proton density MR image of nonspecific thickening of the 2. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 3. 4. median nerve (broken arrow), with a similar configuration.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              138,
              150
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2014, Richard W. Nelson, C. Guillermo Couto, Small Animal Internal Medicine, →ISBN, page 761:",
          "text": "Note that the uptake of pertechnetate (i.e., darkness) is comparable between the two thyroid lobes (solid arrow) and the salivary glands (broken arrow).",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A callout marker that consists of a dashed line with an arrowhead."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "technical",
          "technical"
        ],
        [
          "callout",
          "callout"
        ],
        [
          "dashed",
          "dashed"
        ],
        [
          "line",
          "line"
        ],
        [
          "arrowhead",
          "arrowhead"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(technical) A callout marker that consists of a dashed line with an arrowhead."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "engineering",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences",
        "technical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "English terms with historical senses",
        "en:Military"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any of a series of accidental nuclear events in the Cold War, involving nuclear weapons or warheads fallen from aircrafts, which could have triggered a nuclear war."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "military",
          "military"
        ],
        [
          "accidental",
          "accidental"
        ],
        [
          "nuclear",
          "nuclear"
        ],
        [
          "Cold War",
          "Cold War"
        ],
        [
          "nuclear weapon",
          "nuclear weapon"
        ],
        [
          "warhead",
          "warhead"
        ],
        [
          "aircraft",
          "aircraft"
        ],
        [
          "nuclear war",
          "nuclear war"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, military, historical) Any of a series of accidental nuclear events in the Cold War, involving nuclear weapons or warheads fallen from aircrafts, which could have triggered a nuclear war."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "historical"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "government",
        "military",
        "politics",
        "war"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see broken, arrow."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "broken",
          "broken#English"
        ],
        [
          "arrow",
          "arrow#English"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "broken arrow"
}

Download raw JSONL data for broken arrow meaning in English (3.0kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-03-25 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-03-03 using wiktextract (05c257f and 9d9a410). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.