Leftarrow

The term "leftarrow" commonly refers to the leftwards arrow symbol (Unicode U+2190, named LEFTWARDS ARROW), a graphical glyph used to indicate direction, assignment, relation, or navigation toward the left. In digital text it can be represented by the Unicode character ←, the HTML entity ← (or numeric reference ←), and in TeX/LaTeX by the commands \leftarrow or \gets.

In mathematics and logic the leftwards arrow appears in various notations: it can show mapping or transformation direction, express backward implication in informal contexts, or serve as part of compound arrow symbols. In computer science and pseudocode the left arrow is widely used as an assignment operator (for example, x ← y to denote assigning y to x). Many programming languages instead use ASCII alternatives such as <- (R and some pseudocode conventions) or := (Pascal-family languages); native arrow characters are less common in source code because of keyboard and encoding considerations.

Typography and interface design use leftward arrows as icons for navigation (back buttons), undo actions, and directional indicators. Variants exist in the Unicode Arrows block (double arrows, long arrows, arrows with hooks or tails) to convey different semantics. For accessibility, textual alternatives and proper labeling should accompany arrow icons so meaning is clear to screen readers and assistive technologies.