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

First National Bank also is exploring expanding in west Charlotte at the iconic Bar-B-Q King site. —Brian Gordon, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2025

Since its founding, the agency has transformed from a scrappy collection of engineers into the world’s most iconic space organization. —Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 21 Oct. 2025

George Springer delivered an iconic moment in Game 7 against the Seattle Mariners on Monday. —Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025

Toyota's just expanded its iconic Land Cruiser SUV lineup with the Land Cruiser FJ, a boxy little thing that's meant to get more people off-roading in an accessible form factor. —New Atlas, 21 Oct. 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