What ▾ means
It points to a menu or content below.
After a heading, it can mark the content beneath as open. Web controls that reveal hidden content use the same cue. The label supplies the action; ▾ itself only points down.
Compact and functional; beside a label, it reads like interface notation.
Don't confuse it with
2Questions people ask
1Why does ▾ show as a box on some devices?
Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.
How to type ▾
Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 25BE, then Alt+X to get ▾.
Windows
Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win + .).
macOS
Control+Command+SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “black down-pointing small triangle”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 25be, then Enter or Space.
HTML
▾CSS
\25BEMicrosoft Office
Type 25BE, then press Alt+X.
Font trouble
If it appears as a box, switch to a font that includes it; fallback can change its size or weight.
Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
▾
HTML hex
▾
CSS content
content: "\25BE";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%E2%96%BE
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
3
UTF-8 bytes
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.