insignia

noun in·sig·nia \ in-ˈsig-nē-ə \

variants: or less commonly insigne play \in-ˈsig-(ˌ)nē\

|Updated on: 26 Jul 2018

Examples: insignia in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of insignia

plural insignia or insignias

1 : a badge of authority or honor

2 : a distinguishing mark or sign

See insignia defined for English-language learners

See insignia defined for kids

Examples of insignia in a Sentence

Their jackets have the school's insignia on the front.

Recent Examples of insignia from the Web

Bag by bag, the team found artifacts from the crash, including bits and teeth and bone and an officer’s cap insignia from what was then the Army Air Corps.

— brian murphy, Washington Post, "How one man’s obsession led to the discovery of a lost WWII pilot," 30 June 2018
Also note that similar laws are on the book for unauthorized use of the Swiss flag, the 4-H club emblem, and the Red Cross insignia.

— shelley puhak, Teen Vogue, "7 Federal Misdemeanors "Worse" Than Illegally Crossing the Border," 28 June 2018
This is the only unit with such imagery, and because the unit is part of the 509th, the air wing's insignia features a mushroom cloud as well.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "B-52 Bombers Could Quadruple Their Wing Bomb Loads," 25 June 2018
In 2014, under Mark Shapiro, the team president at the time, the Indians reduced the use of the Chief Wahoo logo and introduced a block C as their primary insignia.

— david waldstein, New York Times, "Cleveland Indians Will Abandon Chief Wahoo Logo Next Year," 29 Jan. 2018
The shift began at dawn on March 18, 2014, when units of regular Russian servicemen, their insignia removed from their uniforms, moved out from a base at Sevastopol to occupy key military targets across the Ukrainian province of Crimea.

— owen matthews, Newsweek, "Putin’s Secret Armies Waged War in Syria—Where Will They Fight Next?," 17 Jan. 2018
On Istanbul’s highest hill above the Bosporus, Mr. Erdogan is building the white marble Camlica mosque, appointing it with six minarets, the insignia of greatness.

— New York Times, "A Canal Through Turkey? Presidential Vote Is a Test of Erdogan’s Building Spree," 21 June 2018
The company's flight testers wear an insignia of a hummingbird while at work, De Reyes noted.

— author: elwood brehmer, Anchorage Daily News, "Startup plans to revolutionize the air cargo industry, starting with Alaska," 15 June 2018
The frosting and decorations (royal seals and family insignia in marzipan) budge as little as the Queen’s Guard.

— alex beggs, Bon Appetit, "Hold On to Your Fascinators, We Made an Unofficial Royal Wedding Cake Recipe," 15 May 2018

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

Did You Know?

Insignia are the official signs of rank, titles, or awards. Medals are an example, as are the crowns of monarchs. The Catholic church employs such insignia as the red robes of cardinals. U.S. presidents have the presidential seal, which appears on the stand when they're giving a speech. But most of us think first of the bars, stripes, badges, and patches of military rank.