icon

1 of 2

noun

ˈī-ˌkän 

variants or less commonly ikon

plural icons also ikons

1

: a person or thing widely admired especially for having great influence or significance in a particular sphere

a civil rights icon

an actor and fashion icon

… Purple Rain, the flick that established Prince as a pop icon and cineaste.

—Robert Christgau and Carola Dibbell

That cultural icon, the Nintendo Game Boy, was released in 1989 …

—Eleanor Flegg

2

: emblem, symbol

Rosie the Riveter, a WWII [World War II] cultural icon with her blue jumpsuit and red bandana, represented the women who went to work at manufacturing hubs across the nation …

—David DeBolt

A single photograph, the photograph of Earth taken from space by William Anders, on Apollo 8, in 1968, served as an icon for the entire environmental movement.

—Jill Lepore

The nation's first President was transformed into an icon, a national symbol whose somewhat forbidding portrait would adorn the dollar bill.

—John J. O'Connor

3

a

: a graphic symbol on a computer display screen that represents an app, an object (such as a file), or a function (such as the command to save)

b

: a sign (such as a word or graphic symbol) whose form suggests its meaning

c

archaic : a usually pictorial representation : image

4

[Late Greek eikōn, from Greek] in Eastern Orthodox Christianity : a representation (as in a mural, a mosaic, or a painting on wood) of sacred events or especially of a sacred individual (such as Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a saint) used as an object of veneration or a tool for instruction

icon-

2 of 2

combining form

variants or icono-

: image

iconolatry

Synonyms

Noun

• god
• hero
• idol

Examples of icon in a Sentence

Noun

Click on the icon to open your e-mail program.

He has become an icon in the movie business.

a singer who has become a pop icon

The Statue of Liberty has become an American cultural icon.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Three decades after Bernadette Peters melted over Breyers ice cream for a series of cheeky commercials, the Broadway icon is once again joining forces with the brand. —Erin Clements, Peoplemag, 4 June 2024

The 68-year-old Hollywood icon has yet to attach herself to a Star Wars project, though she's famously portrayed the character Guinan across several different projects in the Star Trek universe. —Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 3 June 2024

Organization and adjustment tools are hidden behind the box, and control slider icons are at the left and right edges. —PCMAG, 31 May 2024

Giant pandas are icons in Washington, D.C., and beloved around the nation and the world. —Dino Hazell, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Latin, from Greek eikōn, from eikenai to resemble

Combining form

Greek eikon-, eikono-, from eikon-, eikōn

First Known Use

Noun

1572, in the meaning defined at sense 3c

Kids Definition

icon

noun

variants also ikon

ˈī-ˌkän

1

: a person or thing widely admired especially for having great influence or significance in a particular sphere

2

: a religious image usually painted on a small wooden panel

3

: emblem sense 1, symbol

4

: a pictorial symbol on a computer screen