symbol
Americannoun
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something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial; emblem, token, or sign.
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a letter, figure, or other character or mark or a combination of letters or the like used to designate something.
the algebraic symbol x; the chemical symbol Au.
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(especially in semiotics) a word, phrase, image, or the like having a complex of associated meanings and perceived as having inherent value separable from that which is symbolized, as being part of that which is symbolized, and as performing its normal function of standing for or representing that which is symbolized: usually conceived as deriving its meaning chiefly from the structure in which it appears, and generally distinguished from a sign.
verb (used with object)
noun
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something that represents or stands for something else, usually by convention or association, esp a material object used to represent something abstract
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an object, person, idea, etc, used in a literary work, film, etc, to stand for or suggest something else with which it is associated either explicitly or in some more subtle way
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a letter, figure, or sign used in mathematics, science, music, etc to represent a quantity, phenomenon, operation, function, etc
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psychoanal the end product, in the form of an object or act, of a conflict in the unconscious between repression processes and the actions and thoughts being repressed
the symbols of dreams
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psychol any mental process that represents some feature of external reality
verb
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A conventional, printed or written figure used to represent an operation, element, quantity, relation, unit of measurement, phenomenon, or descriptor.
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Also called sign
Etymology
Origin of symbol
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin symbolum, from Greek sýmbolon “sign,” equivalent to sym- sym- ( def. ) + -bolon, neuter for bolḗ (feminine) “a throw, stroke, glance, blow”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With the boxes colored in and filled with symbols, it was like a secret language, a code only knitters could decipher.
From Literature
Footage showed people dancing in the streets of the U.S. capital, some waving Iran’s former “Lion and Sun” flag that has become a symbol of the opposition.
Authorities say they are also reviewing symbols and clothing associated with the suspect, including a flag and T-shirt found at the scene, as part of their review of possible ideological motivations.
From Salon
He memorized symbols and repetitions when texting girlfriends, a trick he compares to a person who can’t speak Spanish singing along to “La Bamba.”
When the Allies occupied defeated Germany, they systematically removed the symbols and regalia of Nazi rule, as at the Nazi Party’s rallying grounds at Nuremberg.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
