token

American  

[toh-kuhn] / ˈtoʊ kən /

noun

• tokens
  plural

1. something serving to represent or indicate some fact, event, feeling, etc.; sign.

   Black is a token of mourning.

2. a characteristic indication or mark of something; evidence or proof.

   Malnutrition is a token of poverty.

3. a memento; souvenir; keepsake.

   The seashell was a token of their trip.

4. something used to indicate authenticity, authority, etc.; emblem; badge.

   Judicial robes are a token of office.

5. Also called token coin.  a stamped piece of metal, issued as a limited medium of exchange, as for bus fares, at a nominal value much greater than its commodity value.

6. anything of only nominal value used in exchange for goods or services, as paper currency.

7. virtual token.

8. an item, idea, etc., representing a group; a part as representing the whole; sample; indication.

   The religious movement was an exhibition of latent energy, and a token of what may take place at some future day.

9. a person, especially a member of a minority group, who has been hired, admitted, enrolled, etc., to forestall charges of prejudice or discrimination.

10. an object, as a disk or figure, used in various board games for marking a player's position or for keeping score.

11. Logic, Linguistics. a particular instance of a word, symbol, expression, sentence, or the like.

    A printed page might have twenty tokens of the single type-word “and.”

---

verb (used with object)

1. to be a token of; signify; symbolize.

adjective

1. serving as a token.

   At the end of the field trip each child received a token gift to take home as a memento.

   The HR complaint was filed by a man who felt his hiring had been meant to add a token male to an all-female staff.

   Synonyms:

   symbolic

2. slight; nominal; minimal.

   token resistance;

   a token amount.

idioms

1. by the same token,

   1. moreover; furthermore.

      She has a talent as a painter, and by the same token has a sharp eye for detail.

   2. in proof of which.

      The study examined the possible effects of stress on health and, by the same token, IQ and test scores.

2. in token of, as a sign of; in evidence of.

   a ring in token of his love.

token British  

/ ˈtəʊkən /

noun

1. an indication, warning, or sign of something

2. a symbol or visible representation of something

3. something that indicates authority, proof, or authenticity

4. a metal or plastic disc, such as a substitute for currency for use in slot machines

5. a memento

6. a gift voucher that can be used as payment for goods of a specified value

7. (modifier) as a matter of form only; nominal

   a token increase in salary

8. linguistics a symbol regarded as an individual concrete mark, not as a class of identical symbols Compare type

9. philosophy an individual instance: if the same sentence has different truth-values on different occasions of utterance the truth-value may be said to attach to the sentence-token Compare type

10. moreover and for the same or a similar reason

---

verb

1. (tr) to act or serve as a warning or symbol of; betoken

token More Idioms  

1. see by the same token; in token of.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pretoken
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tokens
  plural

Etymology

Origin of token

First recorded before 900; Middle English token(e), tokin(e), Old English tāc(e)n, tācon; cognate with German Zeichen, Old Norse teikn, tākn “sign, mark”; see teach

Explanation

When you give someone a flower or a friendship bracelet or something symbolic of the way you feel about them, you're giving them a token of your affection. A token is not only something sentimental (like a keepsake) or symbolic (like your friendship bracelet). You, yourself, can also be a token: If you're the only female in your office, for instance, and you were hired just so there'd be at least one woman, then you're the "token female." Tokens can also be a kind of special currency, like the coins you use in slot machines. Before the Metro Card, New York City subway riders paid their fares with tokens.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

token tokens

The OpenAI token on Friday was trading at $837, implying an $837 billion valuation.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

Indeed, tech leaders already have begun sounding the alarm on rising AI token costs, and many are well past the pilot phase of AI, where initiatives were funded for the sake of experimentation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

And that’s an increasingly important tool businesses are relying on to keep their AI token costs down.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

And there is a desire in some quarters for the hybrid part of the engine to be more significant than token.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

But it came out sounding broad, perfunctory, like the token consolation of a kind stranger.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

The AI investment map: from tokens to megawatts.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

Tokenization refers to the use of blockchain-based tokens to represent shares in public companies, rather than traditional stock ownership routed through conventional brokers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Another, called Tessera Lab, for example, had pre-IPO tokens on SpaceX and now offer Kalshi, the prediction market, as well as Anthropic rival OpenAI.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

Tessera invests in companies through a special purpose vehicle then provides investors the economic exposure to that company’s valuation through the tokens.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

In the past I have seen many such tokens as this weapon.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

Related Words

• badge
• expression
• manifestation
• memento
• proof
• souvenir
• symbol