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

But Nguyen isn’t shy about the shortcomings of his first classic car, an iconic 1970 Ford Bronco. — Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 10 July 2026

At Balenciaga, where Pierpaolo Piccioli made his debut with bubble silhouettes that reference an iconic dress by the house founder and chez Jean Paul Gaultier, Duran Lantink had the last laugh—as an enfant terrible is wont to do. — Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 10 July 2026

Sudarshan has pinned his hopes on the iconic Norton, a more than century-old British brand long celebrated for its racing pedigree, innovative technology and cool designs. — Anu Raghunathan, Forbes.com, 9 July 2026

Later this year, Alsonso stars in the Netflix romantic drama Don’t Ever Wonder, inspired by Maxwell’s iconic album Urban Hang Suite. — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 9 July 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