symbol

American  

[sim-buhl] / ˈsɪm bəl /

noun

• symbols
  plural

1. something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial; emblem, token, or sign.

2. 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.

3. (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.

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verb (used with object)

symboled, symboling, symbolled, symbolling

1. to use symbols; symbolize.

symbol British  

/ ˈsɪmbəl /

noun

1. something that represents or stands for something else, usually by convention or association, esp a material object used to represent something abstract

2. 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

3. a letter, figure, or sign used in mathematics, science, music, etc to represent a quantity, phenomenon, operation, function, etc

4. 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

5. psychol any mental process that represents some feature of external reality

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verb

1. (tr) another word for symbolize

symbol Scientific  

/ sĭm′bəl /

1. A conventional, printed or written figure used to represent an operation, element, quantity, relation, unit of measurement, phenomenon, or descriptor.

2. Also called sign

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symbol ¹ Cultural  

1. An object or name that stands for something else, especially a material thing that stands for something that is not material. The bald eagle is a symbol of the United States of America. The cross is a symbol of Christianity. The Star of David is a symbol of Judaism.

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symbol ² Cultural  

1. Something that represents or suggests something else. Symbols often take the form of words, visual images, or gestures that are used to convey ideas and beliefs. All human cultures use symbols to express the underlying structure of their social systems, to represent ideal cultural characteristics, such as beauty, and to ensure that the culture is passed on to new generations. Symbolic relationships are learned rather than biologically or naturally determined, and each culture has its own symbols.

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symbol Idioms  

1. see status symbol.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• symbols
  plural

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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”

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Explanation

A symbol can be an object, shape, sign, or character used to represent something else. A flag is a symbol of a country. English teachers never tire of talking about symbols in literature. A pink ribbon is a symbol of breast-cancer awareness, and a yellow ribbon is a symbol of support for U.S. troops. In literature, authors use many symbols. A character doing even a small thing, like eating a cheeseburger, might symbolize something larger about that character. Something you need to be rich to have — like a limousine — is called a "status symbol." Anytime one thing seems to represent a deeper meaning, it's probably a symbol.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

symbol symbols symboled symbolled symbolling

The automaker expects to begin trading as a Nasdaq-listed company on Nov. 17 under its current GM stock symbol.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

The company’s filing Monday revealed that it will trade under the symbol “ANT” on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

Some were dressed in Palestinian jerseys, had tied Palestinian and Irish flags to themselves, and many were wearing keffiyeh scarves, a symbol of Palestinian identity.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

Lemons: Fruit is a symbol of life, fertility, love, and wholesome goodness.

From Slate ● Oct. 24, 2026

It’s well-known that Joey loves to write, and the gift is a symbol of gratitude for all her work during the war.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Yet Indigenous and enslaved African populations did not simply take on these symbols of subjugation; they absorbed and subverted them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

"Bald eagles are widely recognised as symbols of freedom. They deserve better than to be used as an entertainment prop to amuse the Eagles' fans."

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

City-hall buildings are widely regarded as symbols of the French Republic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

Since the club's takeover by deep-pocketed Abu Dhabi investors in 2008, long-neglected districts between the stadium and the city centre have become symbols of the northern city's rebirth.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

There is no frost upon the windows of Marco’s flat, so he inscribes lines of symbols in the shape of a letter A with ink, pressing his darkened fingers against the panes.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Here is the chest, sealed with my signet-ring, A mystery and a treasure lies within, Whose worth is faintly symboled by these gems, Starring the case.

From The Poems of Emma Lazarus, Volume 2 Jewish poems: Translations by Emma Lazarus

Ah, could the world but gaze upon that Christ With heart attuned unto the symboled love That makes his face a radiant miracle!

From Pan and Æolus: Poems by Charles Hamilton Musgrove

At its lowest, the instinct that boosts us up to peep over our neighbor's transom, symboled by a knot-hole.

From The Roycroft Dictionary Concocted by Ali Baba and the Bunch on Rainy Days. by Elbert Hubbard

Around her limbs a veil of woven mist Wavers, and turns from fibered amethyst To textured crystal; through which symboled bars Of silver burn, and cabalistic stars Of nebulous gold.

From Weeds by the Wall Verses by Madison Julius Cawein

Will thy hand hold the pen which shall indict The symboled mystery-write the final knell Of rainbow fancy-is the distant sight A nothingless encircled by a spell Of gleaming bubbles wrought of beauty's shell?

From Anthology of Massachusetts Poets by William Stanley Braithwaite

It was in my heart, and must have been symbolled in my countenance.

From The Bandolero A Marriage among the Mountains by Mayne Reid

"Fyve wellys"—there symbolled trace, Hushing this mortal strife,— "Of pitty, merci, comfort, gracy, And everlastingh lyffe."

From The Strife of the Roses and Days of the Tudors in the West by William Henry Hamilton Rogers

That with the earth symbolled forth sudden, or perhaps violent, death; that with the water, emigration or ship-wreck; while that with the ring, of course a wedding and domestic happiness.

From The Catholic World; Volume I, Issues 1-6 A Monthly Eclectic Magazine by E. Rameur

Great are the symbols of being, but that which is symbolled is greater; Vast the create and beheld, but vaster the inward creator.

From The Optimist's Good Morning by Florence Hobart Perin

Say, then, reader, is not every element of thought which can arise between a Christian and his Creator symbolled forth here in equal beauty and grandeur?

From Lands of the Slave and the Free Cuba, the United States, and Canada by Henry A. Murray

Be it the birthday wreath she wears Fresh and fair, and symbolling The young number of her years, The sweet blushes of her spring.

From Ballads by William Makepeace Thackeray

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Related Words

• badge
• design
• emblem
• figure
• image
• indication
• logo
• motif
• pattern
• token
• type

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