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 new extension was designed to echo the district’s iconic machiya, wooden townhouses, and features dimpled naguri floors, bamboo screens, zelkova, chestnut and cherry wood touches. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Apr. 2026

The five members of Michigan’s iconic 1991 recruiting class, who led the Wolverines to the Final Four in 1992 and ’93, have reunited only a handful of times. —Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026

Either way, the iconic Mexican dish has a whole day to celebrate it. —Julia Gomez, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026

And helping to bring humanity along for the ride, and having this iconic experience for this new Artemis generation of explorers. —Sooji Nam, CBS News, 2 Apr. 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