Gate valve symbol

Two triangles meeting at their points, the generic valve on a flow diagram.

Also known as: Bowtie symbol, Two triangles on a pipe, Valve symbol

Engineering & technicalStandard profile

Meanings

Two triangles meeting point to point is the generic valve — a bowtie in a pipeline. What kind of valve it is comes from what is added on top, so the bowtie alone means only that flow can be stopped here.

Common modern usageVerified fact
Marks a valve in a pipeline on a process or piping diagram, in the generic form from which the specific types are built.
Contexts: Technical drawing
Common modern usageVerified fact
Is qualified by what is drawn on top: a stem and handwheel for a manual gate valve, a diaphragm for an actuated one, an arrow for direction.
Contexts: Technical drawing
Common modern usageVerified fact
Belongs to the diagram symbol sets governed by ISO 14617, which covers graphical symbols for diagrams across several engineering fields.
Contexts: Technical drawing

Visual description

Two triangles set point to point on a horizontal line, forming a bowtie shape with the meeting point on the pipe's centreline.

Symmetry: point
Orientation: upright

Part of the same system as: Check valve symbol
Valve symbols on a process diagram, built from the same base.

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.

Sources

ISO 14617, Graphical symbols for diagrams
International Organization for Standardization · retrieved 2026-08-01
Paywalled and NOT READ. Registered so records can state which standard governs a symbol — a checkable fact a reader can act on — and for nothing else. It governs the symbol sets used on fluid power and process diagrams. No meaning in any record is typed `official` on the strength of this entry. See docs/paywalled-standards.md.
Piping and instrumentation diagram
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for what a symbol instructs and which standard governs it. Where a standard is named it is reported by this source rather than read, so no meaning is typed `official` on that basis.
Valve
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for what a symbol instructs and which standard governs it. Where a standard is named it is reported by this source rather than read, so no meaning is typed `official` on that basis.

Last reviewed 2026-07-31

Part of

Process and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) and circuit symbols

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Meanings

Common modern usageVerified fact

Marks a valve in a pipeline on a process or piping diagram, in the generic form from which the specific types are built.

Contexts: Technical drawing

Common modern usageVerified fact

Is qualified by what is drawn on top: a stem and handwheel for a manual gate valve, a diaphragm for an actuated one, an arrow for direction.

Contexts: Technical drawing

Common modern usageVerified fact

Belongs to the diagram symbol sets governed by ISO 14617, which covers graphical symbols for diagrams across several engineering fields.

Contexts: Technical drawing

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but multiple independent sources agree.

Sources

ISO 14617, Graphical symbols for diagrams
International Organization for Standardization · retrieved 2026-08-01
Paywalled and NOT READ. Registered so records can state which standard governs a symbol — a checkable fact a reader can act on — and for nothing else. It governs the symbol sets used on fluid power and process diagrams. No meaning in any record is typed `official` on the strength of this entry. See docs/paywalled-standards.md.
Piping and instrumentation diagram
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for what a symbol instructs and which standard governs it. Where a standard is named it is reported by this source rather than read, so no meaning is typed `official` on that basis.
Valve
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for what a symbol instructs and which standard governs it. Where a standard is named it is reported by this source rather than read, so no meaning is typed `official` on that basis.

Last reviewed 2026-07-31

Meanings

Visual description

Related & commonly confused symbols

Meanings

Visual description

Related & commonly confused symbols