symbolize
Americanverb (used with object)
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symbolizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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symbolized,
past participle, past
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symbolizing
present participle
verb (used without object)
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symbolizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
symbolized,
past participle, past
-
symbolizing
present participle
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
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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symbolizesimple
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symbolizessimple
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have symbolizedperfect
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has symbolizedperfect
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am symbolizingprogressive
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are symbolizingprogressive
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is symbolizingprogressive
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have been symbolizingperfect progressive
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has been symbolizingperfect progressive
Past
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symbolizedsimple
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had symbolizedperfect
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was symbolizingprogressive
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were symbolizingprogressive
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had been symbolizingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
Presidents not only symbolize and embody the values of the nation — they reveal them.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 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
Once known for its Quaker past and links to Richard Nixon, the city is coming to symbolize a new set of aspirations.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 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
She picked a card with roses on it, which I thought was kind of strange, considering it was for Jimmy and roses are supposed to symbolize love.
From "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead
But it’s also somewhat singular because of who Thompson is and what Megan symbolizes.
From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2026
A: Ruth symbolizes what she herself expressed: decency.
From Barron's ● Mar. 19, 2026
For me, the ash cross symbolizes how to repent—at the cross.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
It symbolizes the victory of light over darkness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2026
Atahuallpa’s capture symbolizes the European conquest of the Americas, because the same mix of proximate factors that caused it was also responsible for European conquests of other Native American societies.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
The 1973 Arab oil embargo contributed to years of inflation, and President Gerald Ford’s “Whip Inflation Now” initiative symbolized the failed response to it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Eve symbolized beauty and promised consumers the same results through their purchasing power.
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
A theatergoer was called upon to play the vet who euthanized the narrator’s childhood pet, a dog named Indiana Bones that was symbolized by a coat someone volunteered from the audience.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
For generations, it has symbolized resilience and rural life, valued for its toughness, ability to graze on marginal land, and nutrient-dense milk that supported small farmers.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 26, 2026
For that city, and the name it was destined to carry, symbolized the conspiracy that threatened, so Jefferson and his followers thought, all that Virginia stood for.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
SINGAPORE—A pioneering Chinese maker of humanoid robots soared 460% in its trading debut in Shanghai to achieve a market value of $51 billion, symbolizing the frenzy around an industry Beijing hopes to dominate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
The cover is illustrated by a mango tree, symbolizing her parents’ home country of El Salvador.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
Similar banners hang outside the Department of Labor and other federal buildings throughout Washington, D.C, symbolizing what’s happening at the Court and throughout the country.
From Salon ● Feb. 26, 2026
This mutual cooperation embodies the Japanese concept of "AUN," symbolizing balance and harmony between opposites.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2025
There was a skit in which the Panther mascot moved about ripping up paper tombstones symbolizing Permian’s fallen opponents.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
