Clockwise Top Semicircle Arrow

The Clockwise Top Semicircle Arrow at U+21B7 is a curved arrow showing clockwise motion across the upper half of a circle. It belongs to the Arrows block and is used as a printable directional symbol rather than as a mathematical operator with one fixed meaning. Its most common role is in interface text, diagrams, and documentation where it suggests rotating something clockwise, turning back around the top, or following a curved path. For example, an instruction for a diagram might use ↷ to mark a clockwise sweep, a circular gesture, or a “rotate right” action when a full circular arrow would be too broad. It also appears in technical notes, educational material, and informal math or physics sketches to label orientation, torque direction, cyclic order, or movement along an arc. In these settings its meaning is usually defined by the surrounding caption or legend, not by a universal convention. Because many curved arrow symbols look similar, it can be mistaken for refresh, redo, return, or loop icons in plain text. When exact UI meaning matters, pairing it with words such as “clockwise,” “rotate,” or “top arc” avoids ambiguity.