status symbol

American  

noun

1. an object, habit, etc., by which the social or economic status of the possessor may be judged.

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status symbol British  

noun

1. a possession which is regarded as proof of the owner's social position, wealth, prestige, etc

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status symbol Idioms  

1. A position or activity that allows one's social prestige to be displayed, as in She doesn't even drive; that car of hers is purely a status symbol. [Mid-1900s]

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Example Sentences

A viral video claims the $130 Costco executive membership is the new VIP status symbol — but is the rewards program actually worth the price?

From MarketWatch • Mar. 17, 2026

It is a status symbol, rite of passage and phantom limb wrapped into one.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

Not everything needs to be kitsch, dumbed down, or turned into a competitive status symbol, lest anyone take that as another excuse to care even less about the wrong things.

From Salon • Jan. 11, 2026

Owning a pet bird was - and for some generations in China, still is - a status symbol.

From BBC • Dec. 28, 2025

Many white slaveholders, especially in Virginia’s upper-class homes, considered mixed-race people a sort of status symbol, just as some people today think of a flashy car or an expensive new smartphone.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis