Icon Definition & Meaning

American

British

Scientific

Cultural

Related Words

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms icon American [ahy-kon] / ˈaɪ kɒn / Also ikon,

noun

1. Digital Technology. a picture or symbol that appears on a screen and is used to represent a file, account, application, etc..

   Tap the icon to download the app.

   Click the flag icon at the top of the web page to toggle the language to English.

2. Eastern Church. a representation of some sacred personage or event, such as Christ or a saint or the Resurrection, painted usually on a wood surface and venerated for its subject.

3. a person or thing that epitomizes for many people a value, an era, a community, etc.

   Blue jeans remain an American cultural icon, despite the outsourcing of their manufacture to other countries.

4. a person or thing that is revered or idolized.

   Elvis Presley is a cultural icon of the 20th century.

5. Semiotics. a sign or representation that stands for its object by virtue of a resemblance or analogy to it.

6. any picture, image, or other representation.

icon British / ˈaɪkɒn /

noun

1. Also: ikon. a representation of Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a saint, esp one painted in oil on a wooden panel, depicted in a traditional Byzantine style and venerated in the Eastern Church

2. an image, picture, representation, etc

3. a person or thing regarded as a symbol of a belief, nation, community, or cultural movement

4. a person regarded as a sex symbol or as a symbol of the latest fashion trends

5. a pictorial representation of a facility available on a computer system, that enables the facility to be activated by means of a screen cursor rather than by a textual instruction

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 icon Scientific / ī′kŏn′ /

1. In a graphical user interface, a picture on the screen that represents a specific file, directory, window, or program. Clicking on an icon will start the associated program or open the associated file, directory, or window.

icon Cultural

1. An image used in worship in the Eastern Orthodox Church and among other Christians (see also Christian) of similar traditions. Icons depict Jesus, Mary, and the saints, usually in a severe, symbolic, nonrealistic way.

Related Words

See image.

Etymology

Origin of icon

First recorded in 1565–75; from Latin īcon, from Greek eikṓn “figure, image, likeness”

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.

The Kenya Wildlife Service described Craig as an "icon" of successful conservation.

From BBC

Right next to the battery icon on the dashboard was a Moylan Arrow.

From The Wall Street Journal

Columbus, he says, was America’s “Adam,” its primordial icon.

From The Wall Street Journal

Buried under the icon next to every URL at the top of the browser, “About this page” was a product of a direct collaboration between Wineburg and engineers at Google.

From The Wall Street Journal

It has produced two Doctor Whos, a Marvel mutant, Game of Thrones stars, UK stage royalty, several Hollywood A-listers and a Traitors icon.

From BBC

Related Words

• apotheosis
• avatar
• embodiment
• epitome
• incarnation
• manifestation
• personification
• quintessence
• representation
• symbol

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.