icon

noun \ ˈī-ˌkän \

variants: or less commonly ikon

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

Definition of icon

1 : a usually pictorial representation : image

[Late Greek eikōn, from Greek]

: a conventional religious image typically painted on a small wooden panel and used in the devotions of Eastern Christians

3 : an object of uncritical devotion : idol

4 : emblem, symbol

the house became an icon of 1960's residential architecture
—Paul Goldberger

5 a : a sign (such as a word or graphic symbol) whose form suggests its meaning

b : a graphic symbol on a computer display screen that represents an object (such as a file) or function (such as the command to delete)

See icon defined for English-language learners

See icon defined for kids

Examples of icon in a Sentence

Click on the icon to open your e-mail program.
He has become an icon in the movie business.
a singer who has become a pop icon
The Statue of Liberty has become an American cultural icon.

Recent Examples of icon from the Web

In a reflection of our pell-mell culture, Supreme’s T-shirts have featured a range of pop icons from the rapper Nas to Kate Moss to Elmo.

— jacob gallagher, WSJ, "Supreme May be the Hottest Clothing Brand in America. Should You Care?," 6 June 2018
In 2015, dozens of Miami Beach police officers and SWAT members raced to the home of rap icon Lil Wayne on land, by water and with K9s after someone placed a prank call to police.

— charles rabin, miamiherald, "SWAT swarms home of Parkland student activist after a prank call to police," 5 June 2018
In 2015, dozens of Miami Beach police officers and SWAT members raced to the home of rap icon Lil Wayne on land, by water and with K9s after someone placed a prank call to police.

— charles rabin, chicagotribune.com, "Police swarm home of Parkland student activist David Hogg after 'swatting' hoax call," 5 June 2018
Take a look through the gallery above to see photos of the fashion icon through the years.

— daniela sternitzky-di napoli, Houston Chronicle, "Remembering Kate Spade: See the designer through the years," 5 June 2018
New show features orchestrated versions of the late music icon’s hits and deep cuts.

— jim kiest, San Antonio Express-News, "Concerts coming in 2018-2019 to San Antonio," 4 June 2018
But the contemporary reports have what are perhaps subtle hints at how popular one of the city's jazz icons had become before the club was forced out of business by the city.

— doug maccash, NOLA.com, "David Byrne cancels New Orleans show in Oct. Simple Minds due in Nov.," 4 June 2018
And, later this summer, Maxwell King’s The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers will add to that list, as the first full-length biography of the television icon.

— maxwell king, Time, "Get an Exclusive Look Inside the First Full-Length Mister Rogers Biography," 1 June 2018
The late Dominican-American fashion designer, who died in 2014, dressed several American first ladies throughout his storied rise to fashion-icon status.

— nick maslow, PEOPLE.com, "6 American Touches That Made This Royal Wedding Different from All the Rest," 19 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'icon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of icon

Latin, from Greek eikōn, from eikenai to resemble

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1572

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

icon Synonyms

Other Fine Arts Terms

Gothic, baroque, bas-relief, limn, oeuvre, pastiche, rococo, sfumato

icon-

combining form

variants: or icono-

Definition of icon-

: image

iconolatry

Origin and Etymology of icon-

Greek eikon-, eikono-, from eikon-, eikōn

ICON Defined for English Language Learners

icon

noun

Definition of icon for English Language Learners

computers : a small picture on a computer screen that represents a program or function
: a person who is very successful and admired
: a widely known symbol