symbolize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to serve as or be a symbol of
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to represent by a symbol or symbols
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(intr) to use symbols
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(tr) to treat or regard as symbolic or figurative
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has symbolizedperfect 3rd person singular
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have symbolizedperfect
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are symbolizingprogressive
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is symbolizingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been symbolizingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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symbolizessingular 3rd person
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am symbolizingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been symbolizingperfect progressive
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symbolizingparticiple
Past
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had symbolizedperfect
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was symbolizingprogressive singular
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were symbolizingprogressive plural
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symbolizedsimple
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had been symbolizingperfect progressive
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symbolizedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of symbolize
From the New Latin word symbolizāre, dating back to 1580–90. See symbol, -ize
Explanation
Use the verb symbolize when you use an image, shape, color, or other simple visual to stand for something else, like when you wear black to symbolize that you're mourning a loss. To symbolize is to make a symbol out of something. Symbolize traces back to the Greek word symbolon, which combines syn-, meaning "together," and bol, meaning "to throw." The earliest Christians were, so to speak, "thrown together" because of their beliefs, and so the Christian "marks" that represented their belief in one God became the first items to be described as symbols.
Vocabulary lists containing symbolize
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Vocabulary to Describe Literary Devices
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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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.
The only object that could better symbolize his time in office is the gold toilet erected as an art installation in D.C. by a mysterious collective called the Secret Handshake.
From Salon • May 20, 2026
The city owes more than its name to the first commander in chief; George Washington encouraged the French developer Pierre Charles L’Enfant to design a capital that would symbolize the nation.
From Slate • May 18, 2026
“So I was incorporating things like the half doorway to symbolize their struggle.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026
That’s a term coined to describe strategic sectors such as AI that symbolize China’s effort to pivot away from traditional growth drivers like property.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
Composers of operas used it to symbolize the underworld.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
