marker

noun

mark·​er ˈmär-kər 

1

: one that marks

2

: something used for marking: such as

a

: a type of felt tip pen that makes wide lines

drew a tree with green and brown markers

used a permanent marker to label the boxes

b

: any of various sewing devices for making or indicating guidelines

a pin marker for hemlines

3

: score sense 7

specifically : run

4

: promissory note, iou

5

: something that serves to identify, predict, or characterize: such as

a

: biomarker

b

: genetic marker

Synonyms

• label

Examples of marker in a Sentence

A person's accent can be a marker of social class.

the markers on the rock and mineral specimens were old and faded

Recent Examples on the Web

Villareal was heading west, near the 26 mile marker, when the 2015 Chevrolet Camaro struck the deer, left the roadway and collided with a tree, the report says. —Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2025

Later research discovered that the children had bone markers and ritualized burial treatment suggesting they had been sacrificed, and the site became known as La Cueva de los Muertos Chiquitos, or the Cave of the Dead Children. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2025

State law limits how California’s 256 public cemetery districts can make money, prohibiting them from selling memorial markers or mausoleums and offering mortuary or cremation services. —Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2025

There are markers of chronic inflammation. —Jennifer Lefton, Verywell Health, 23 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing marker

• genetic marker

Rhymes for marker

• barker
• darker
• starker
• biomarker

Kids Definition

marker

noun

mark·​er ˈmär-kər 

1

: one that marks

2

: something used for marking

Medical Definition

marker

noun

mark·​er ˈmär-kər 

: something that serves to identify, predict, or characterize

a surface marker on a cell that acts as an antigen

: as

a

: biomarker

The recent discovery of a serological marker for the hepatitis C virus has greatly improved diagnostic accuracy for this form of hepatitis.

—Gary P. Wormser, letter in The Journal of the American Medical Association

b

: genetic marker

The idea in genetic linkage analysis is to see if any particular marker, which serves as a signpost for a specific region of a chromosome, is consistently inherited along with the disease …

—Leslie Roberts, Science

called also marker gene