marker

[ mahr-ker ]

noun

1. a person or thing that marks.
2. something used as a mark or indication, as a bookmark or tombstone.
3. a person who records the scores, points, etc., as in a game or contest.
4. a counter used in card playing.
5. Digital Technology. a navigation pointer or other indicator in a graphical user interface: Place markers at the beginning and end of your selection to trim your video in edit mode.

   Dragging the marker up the sound bar will increase the volume.

   Place markers at the beginning and end of your selection to trim your video in edit mode.

6. Genetics. genetic marker.
7. Psychology. an object, as a book or topcoat left at a library table, used to establish territorial possession in a public place.
8. Linguistics.
   1. an element of a construction, as a coordinating conjunction, that is not a part of either immediate constituent.
   2. an element that indicates the grammatical class or function of a construction.
9. a small radio beacon, automatically operated, used for local navigation of vessels.
10. mile-marker.
11. Also called mark·er pen, a pen designed for making bold, colorful, or indelible marks, as in making signs or identifying objects.
12. Slang.
    1. a debt, especially a gambling debt.
    2. a written or signed promise to pay a debt, especially a gambling debt; a promissory note or IOU.
13. Also called mark·er crude. Commerce. a grade of oil on which prices of other crude oils are based.
14. Citizens Band Radio Slang. one's location while driving on a highway, as determined by the nearest milepost.

ˈmarker

/ ˈmɑːkə /

noun

1. 1. something used for distinguishing or marking
   2. ( as modifier )

      a marker buoy

2. a person or thing that marks
3. a person or object that keeps or shows scores in a game
4. See medical marker, genetic marker, biological marker
   a trait, condition, gene, or substance that indicates the presence of, or a probable increased predisposition to, a medical or psychological disorder See biological marker genetic marker medical marker

Word History and Origins

Origin of marker¹

First recorded in 1480–90; mark ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Genetic markers show dogs start out aging faster than people, then quickly slow down.

From Science News For Students

Instead, the biggest difference was in the blood levels of creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase, both markers of muscle damage, which were significantly elevated immediately after the race and 24 hours later in the crampers.

From Outside Online

These markers can be sussed out using well-known techniques, like DNA sequencing and mass spectrometry.

From MIT Technology Review

By tracking both physical and mental health markers, Emerald offers a unique window into the illness.

From MIT Technology Review

Each year, they also placed markers on the moving glacier surface as reference points.

From Science News For Students

Jett sees this number as a marker of how much the president allows professionals to do the job.

From The Daily Beast

Some pilots consider the infrared marker to be crucial to the close air-support mission to support ground troops.

From The Daily Beast

Certainly Democrats laid a marker down for the next two years.

From The Daily Beast

In their opinion, this would allow conservatives to lay a marker down on immigration while avoiding a shutdown for the time being.

From The Daily Beast

Poking out of the shiny gold pages is a “distinctive silk marker”—also gold—which “complements the color of the leather.”

From The Daily Beast

Right over the stone marker, a long-shafted war-lance was carved—the blade pointing down.

From Project Gutenberg

MacRae's seat, stone-marker, and aboriginal spearhead; the three lined up like the sights of a modern rifle.

From Project Gutenberg

As 63 each little square was sown, I thrust the packet on a stick for a marker, and hitched along to the next square.

From Project Gutenberg

Marker witnessed the accident of 1835, and states that the driver who was killed at that time was James Rhodes.

From Project Gutenberg

And in her mind she saw two graves side by side, one with a marker reading "My Beloved Wife," the other unmarked.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• flag
• gravestone
• indicator
• pole
• stone
• tombstone