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

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”

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

Each additional symbol brought the opportunity to bring greater refinement of rhythm, feeling and clarity to the written word.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

“Fidel was for my generation of Latin Americans a living symbol of the struggle for social justice, liberty and sovereignty,” former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said in a statement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

But would Liverpool be a status symbol or a true investment?

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

The streets that line the 110 Freeway between 42nd and 58th are a potent symbol of the challenges facing Bass and her program.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

It was a symbol that made Jack’s blood run cold at the very sight of it.

From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley

These were the most frequently searched ticker symbols on MarketWatch as of 6 a.m.:

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

I am loath to disclaim the power that comes with symbols such as the flag, words such as freedom, and the attachments that adhere to foundational inheritances such as, yes, the Constitution.

From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026

But much of the anti-Christian behavior targets foreign clerics, nuns and the city’s overtly Christian symbols, according to victims and rights groups that monitor such incidents.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

Otero Alcantara, designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2022 for insulting national symbols, contempt and disturbing the public order.

From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026

Each grouping of symbols represented a certain number of stones that had been moved on the abacus, and like each column of the abacus, each grouping had a different value, depending on its position.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

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

Beware Of the symboled Curse in the Bondman there!

From The Orpheus C. Kerr Papers. Series 2 by R. H. (Robert Henry) Newell

These cherubs symboled the joy of life, and when Allegri wished to sign his name, he drew a cherub.

From Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 06 Little Journeys to the Homes of Eminent Artists 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

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

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

The public too should be sufficiently knowing to catch the code signals of each artist whereby these natural facts are symbolled.

From Pictorial Composition and the Critical Judgment of Pictures by Henry Rankin Poore

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

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

The Word in truth is symbolled forth by that straight stem on which I hang.

From The Gnostic Crucifixion by G. R. S. Mead

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

Related Words

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