iconic

adjective

icon·​ic ī-ˈkä-nik 

1

: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of an icon

2

a

: widely recognized and well-established

an iconic brand name

b

: widely known and acknowledged especially for distinctive excellence

an iconic writer

a region's iconic wines

iconically

ī-ˈkä-ni-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Did you know?

The original meaning of iconic was essentially "resembling an icon," but today it often describes what is so admired that it could be the subject of an icon. And with that use, iconic has become part of the language of advertising and publicity: companies and magazines and TV hosts encourage us to think of some consumer item or pop star or show as first-rate or immortal or flawless—absolutely "iconic"—when that person or thing is actually simply widely known and—they assert—distinctively excellent.

Examples of iconic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Speaking at the iconic Versailles Restaurant in Little Havana, Salazar dismissed the reforms as a last-ditch effort by Cuba's communist leadership to attract international financial support amid growing economic pressures. —Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 20 June 2026

McTominay, whose iconic bicycle kick against Denmark was the defining goal of Scotland’s World Cup qualifying campaign, threatened multiple times past the 80th minute but couldn’t convert. —Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 20 June 2026

Hathaway looked effortlessly chic in her white skirt and twisted cropped blouse with nods to her iconic Gap shirt dress by Zac Posen. —Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 19 June 2026

Rosie Randisi Presiding over one end of the resort’s iconic, 140-foot freshwater pool, the spa enjoys pride of place within the exuberant greenery of the 32-acre estate in the island’s pastoral north, far removed from Ibiza’s nightlife reputation. —Alexandra Kirkman, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin īconicus "of a likeness or image," borrowed from Greek eikonikós "(of a statue) in the likeness (of someone)" (Late Greek, "pertaining to or employing images, representative, symbolic"), from eikon-, eikṓn "image, likeness" + -ikos -ic entry 1 — more at icon

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for iconic

• atonic
• benthonic
• bionic
• bosonic
• bubonic
• canonic
• carbonic
• cyclonic
• demonic
• dystonic
• hadronic
• harmonic