noun
Refers to the projectile shot from a bow. Common in both literal and figurative expressions.
彼は弓で矢を射った。
He shot an arrow with a bow.
光陰矢の如し。
Time flies like an arrow.
noun
Used for a wedge or chock, such as a tool for splitting wood or securing something in place. Less common than the arrow sense.
薪を割るのに矢を使う。
I use a wedge to split firewood.
Rarely used kanji form.
The historical derivation is uncertain; the kanji 矢 is conventionally associated with the arrow meaning.