1
a
: a piece resembling a coin issued for use (as for fare on a bus) by a particular group on specified terms
b
: a piece resembling a coin issued as money by some person or body other than a de jure government
c
: a unit of a cryptocurrency
Bitcoin tokens
2
: an outward sign or expression
his tears were tokens of his grief
3
4
b
: a small part representing the whole : indication
this is only a token of what we hope to accomplish
c
: something given or shown as a guarantee (as of authority, right, or identity)
5
: a member of a group (such as a minority) that is included within a larger group through tokenism
especially
: a token employee
6
: a distinguishing feature : characteristic
1
a
: representing no more than a symbolic effort : minimal, perfunctory
token resistance
token integration
b
: serving or intended to show absence of discrimination
a token female employee
2
: done or given as a token especially in partial fulfillment of an obligation or engagement
a token payment
Synonyms
Examples of token in a Sentence
Noun
please accept this parting gift as a token of our lasting affection
Adjective
All the people who work there are men except for a couple of token women.
The ad campaign features a few token minorities.
Recent Examples on the Web
Bywill Daniel, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2024
Guests didn’t leave the Gallery empty-handed; luxury tokens from Augustinus Bader’s cult-favorite products, such as the brand’s eye patches and Rich Cream, were handed to each attendee.
—Maia Torres, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2024
On the same token, there's a new principal at the intermediate school who's laser-focused on the data and making changes to reflect that.
—Alec Johnson, Journal Sentinel, 19 Mar. 2024
Among the pieces found were fragments of a flat board, which had a series of holes carved into it, as well as 25 ceramic tokens, researchers said.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2024
The digital token on Monday climbed 8% to $67,310, well above its $44,000 valuation at the start of the year and less than $2,000 away from surpassing its November 2021 record high of around $69,000.
—Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 4 Mar. 2024
The set also features custom Dune currency and tokens based on items from the film including a Muad’Dib, Crysknife, Gom Jabbar, Maker Hooks, Ornithopter and Ducal Ring.
—Tim Chan, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
Updated March 20, 2024, 2:45 pm EST: The Common Corpus dataset contains 500 billion tokens, not 500 million.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 20 Mar. 2024
In the slides, Hamilton noted that AWS had in the past year spent about $65 million training a 200 billion parameter model on 4 trillion tokens of data using 13,760 older generation Nvidia A100 chips for 48 days.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2024
Mike Householder, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024
The 71-year-old Russian leader only faces three token rivals from Kremlin-friendly parties who have refrained from any criticism of his 24-year rule or his full-scale invasion of Ukraine that was launched on Feb. 24, 2022.
—Emma Burrows and Dasha Litvinova, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Mar. 2024
With most opposition candidates either dead, jailed, exiled, barred from running or simply token figures, Putin is expected to coast to victory, extending his rule until at least 2030.
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024
How to decide whether to pay a dividend or pay a special or a token dividend or to invest in capex or in an acquisition or to buy back shares?
Capital allocation is perhaps the most important job of a CEO and a CFO.
—Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024
Tokens could still be awarded as incentives to grow the network, but token holders might need to wait several years, or until the network hits certain thresholds, before trading restrictions are lifted.
—Chris Dixon, Fortune, 10 Mar. 2024
The film follows a down and out actor living in Tokyo, who is hired as the token American guy for a Japanese rental family company providing professional stand-in services.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 5 Mar. 2024
The trope refers to the token female survivor in slasher films, which fans may recognize in the Scream, Halloween, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre films.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 13 Mar. 2024
Elodie is really just a ritual sacrifice, a token peace offering to the local dragon.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 8 Mar. 2024
Noun
By that same token, this means that Biden can’t really take credit for the retreat in gas prices from their record highs.
—Bywill Daniel, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2024
Guests didn’t leave the Gallery empty-handed; luxury tokens from Augustinus Bader’s cult-favorite products, such as the brand’s eye patches and Rich Cream, were handed to each attendee.
—Maia Torres, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2024
On the same token, there's a new principal at the intermediate school who's laser-focused on the data and making changes to reflect that.
—Alec Johnson, Journal Sentinel, 19 Mar. 2024
Among the pieces found were fragments of a flat board, which had a series of holes carved into it, as well as 25 ceramic tokens, researchers said.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2024
The digital token on Monday climbed 8% to $67,310, well above its $44,000 valuation at the start of the year and less than $2,000 away from surpassing its November 2021 record high of around $69,000.
—Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 4 Mar. 2024
The set also features custom Dune currency and tokens based on items from the film including a Muad’Dib, Crysknife, Gom Jabbar, Maker Hooks, Ornithopter and Ducal Ring.
—Tim Chan, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
Updated March 20, 2024, 2:45 pm EST: The Common Corpus dataset contains 500 billion tokens, not 500 million.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 20 Mar. 2024
In the slides, Hamilton noted that AWS had in the past year spent about $65 million training a 200 billion parameter model on 4 trillion tokens of data using 13,760 older generation Nvidia A100 chips for 48 days.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Sinclair continued his advocacy for marijuana, helping to usher in Ann Arbor’s token $5 fine for pot possession and celebrating when his home state legalized recreational cannabis in 2018.
—Mike Householder, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024
The 71-year-old Russian leader only faces three token rivals from Kremlin-friendly parties who have refrained from any criticism of his 24-year rule or his full-scale invasion of Ukraine that was launched on Feb. 24, 2022.
—Emma Burrows and Dasha Litvinova, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Mar. 2024
With most opposition candidates either dead, jailed, exiled, barred from running or simply token figures, Putin is expected to coast to victory, extending his rule until at least 2030.
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024
How to decide whether to pay a dividend or pay a special or a token dividend or to invest in capex or in an acquisition or to buy back shares?
Capital allocation is perhaps the most important job of a CEO and a CFO.
—Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024
Tokens could still be awarded as incentives to grow the network, but token holders might need to wait several years, or until the network hits certain thresholds, before trading restrictions are lifted.
—Chris Dixon, Fortune, 10 Mar. 2024
The film follows a down and out actor living in Tokyo, who is hired as the token American guy for a Japanese rental family company providing professional stand-in services.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 5 Mar. 2024
The trope refers to the token female survivor in slasher films, which fans may recognize in the Scream, Halloween, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre films.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 13 Mar. 2024
Elodie is really just a ritual sacrifice, a token peace offering to the local dragon.
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 8 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'token.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Old English tācen, tācn sign, token; akin to Old High German zeihhan sign, Greek deiknynai to show — more at diction
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Adjective
1915, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Time Traveler
The first known use of token was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing token
Dictionary Entries Near token
Cite this Entry
“Token.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/token. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
token
noun
to·ken
ˈtō-kən
1
: an outward sign
2
: something (as an act, gesture, or object) that serves as a sign or symbol
a white flag is a token of surrender
3
a
: souvenir
b
: indication sense 2
this is only a token of what we hope to accomplish
4
: a piece resembling a coin that has a special use
a bus token
More from Merriam-Webster on token
Nglish: Translation of token for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of token for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about token
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