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

Rules for iconic items, such as Captain America’s shield or Thor’s hammer, are the big new addition in this expansion. —Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025

Despite including multiple iconic names in this segment, many notable names were left out, including Hulk Hogan, Danielle Spencer, and Jerry Adler. —Jeremy Hanna, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025

Redford, the iconic actor and Oscar-winning director who went on to found the Sundance Film Institute, died on Tuesday at 89 years old. —Ellise Shafer, Variety, 16 Sep. 2025

The most iconic moment would probably be meeting Beyoncé at Tom Ford’s first womenswear show. —Jessica Bennett, VIBE.com, 16 Sep. 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