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

The firm has more than $1.2 trillion in assets under management and a track record of scaling some of the most iconic platforms in the software, infrastructure, and energy sectors. —David Blackmon, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025

One of the most iconic examples of this phenomenon came earlier this year when the show Dimension 20 sold out Madison Square Garden in New York. —Scott Greenstone, NPR, 7 Aug. 2025

Directed by Rudy Valdez (The Sentence, Breakaway), the documentary goes behind the scenes of one of America’s most iconic youth sporting events, taking viewers to Williamsport, the unassuming town in rural Pennsylvania that’s hosted the tournament for nearly 80 years. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2025

The 2025 walk will close the Mackinac Bridge to close vehicular traffic for those interested in walking one of Michigan's most iconic bridge. —Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 7 Aug. 2025

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