If you describe something or someone as an icon, you mean that they are important as a symbol of a particular thing.
Only Marilyn has proved as enduring a fashion icon.
...Picasso and the other icons of modernism.
...the greatest icon of this century.
2. countable noun
An icon is a picture of Christ, his mother, or a saint painted on a wooden panel.
3. countable noun
An icon is a picture on a computer screen representing a particular computer function. If you want to use it, you move the cursor onto the icon using a mouse.
[computing]
More Synonyms of icon
icon in British English
(ˈaɪkɒn)
noun
1. Also: ikon
a representation of Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a saint, esp one painted in oil on a wooden panel, depicted in a traditional Byzantine style and venerated in the Eastern Church
2.
an image, picture, representation, etc
3.
a person or thing regarded as a symbol of a belief, nation, community, or cultural movement
4.
a person regarded as a sex symbol or as a symbol of the latest fashion trends
5.
a pictorial representation of a facility available on a computer system, that enables the facility to be activated by means of a screen cursor rather than by a textual instruction
Word origin
C16: from Latin, from Greek eikōn image, from eikenai to be like
icon in American English
(ˈaɪˌkɑn)
noun
1.
a.
an image; figure; representation
b.
any of various stylized figures, as displayed on a microcomputer screen, representing available functions or resources
2. Eastern ChristianChurch
an image or picture of Jesus, Mary, a saint, etc., venerated as sacred
3.
any person or thing that is revered
4.
someone or something regarded as embodying the essential characteristics of an era, group, etc.
Word origin
L < Gr eikōn, an image, figure (in LGr, sacred image) < IE base *weik-, to resemble > Lith į-vỹkti, to happen, become true
icon- in American English
(ˈaɪˌkɑn)
icono-
used before a vowel
Examples of 'icon' in a sentence
icon
She goes on to cite her mum as one of her fashion icons.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She is an influential pop cultural icon!
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
National icon and symbol of the 2012 Olympics.
The Sun (2016)
There would be no more images of an icon.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It is precisely through the icon and image of the mother that femininity has been made respectable.
Jackson, Rosie Mothers who Leave (1994)
The other issue is that the names of cultural icons have power in themselves.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
There is no denying both women are fashion icons.
The Sun (2011)
The fashion icon is thrilled to live out her dream of making a stunning shop window display.
The Sun (2010)
She has overcome the hostility with a flawless performance as a princess and fashion icon.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
And it was about that time that a movement against icons emerged.
Christianity Today (2000)
It is not easy to strip the gilt from an icon that one admires.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
But it is her hairstyle that made her an enduring fashion icon.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Our cultural icons provide no role models and in many cases are fine examples of how not to behave.
Christopher Ross TUNNEL VISIONS: Journeys of an Underground Philosopher (2001)
But that hasn't stopped him becoming a fashion icon.
The Sun (2008)
It makes a refreshing change to see a true Hollywood icon behave like one.
The Sun (2006)
And one music icon in particular is delighted for Rick.
The Sun (2016)
Tintin is a cultural icon.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
His signature silk screens - icons of pop art - depend on the technologies of commercial reproduction.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
She should have stayed where she was, interviewing cultural icons, keeping it fresh.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Dinosaurs are cultural icons, representing extinction, grandiose size and ferocious excess.
The Times Literary Supplement (2013)
She is, undeniably, also a fashion icon.
The Sun (2015)
One by one, the icons of a different Tory party have been thrown away.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Your Android icons and home screen will get an instant makeover, but the upgrade is little more than cosmetic.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
She adds modestly, by way of a caveat, that she does not see herself as a screen icon.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
One is an icon.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The barometer consists of a central needle with a bike icon on one side of it and the London Underground logo on the other.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The white horse has been an enduring icon in human mythology and history, in books, on battlefields and at many a finishing post.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
In other languages
icon
British English: icon /ˈaɪkɒn/ NOUN
If you describe something or someone as an icon, you mean that they are important as a symbol of something.
She has been described as `an icon of style'.
American English: icon
Arabic: أَيْقُونَةٌ
Brazilian Portuguese: ícone
Chinese: 偶像
Croatian: ikona
Czech: ikona
Danish: ikon
Dutch: icoon
European Spanish: icono
Finnish: ikoni
French: icône
German: Ikone
Greek: εικόνα
Italian: icona
Japanese: 聖像
Korean: 아이콘
Norwegian: ikon
Polish: ikona
European Portuguese: ícone
Romanian: model
Russian: икона
Latin American Spanish: icono
Swedish: ikon
Thai: คนที่มีผู้คนยกย่องสรรเสริญ
Turkish: ikon
Ukrainian: ікона
Vietnamese: biểu tượng máy tính
Chinese translation of 'icon'
icon
(ˈaɪkɔn)
n(c)
(religious) 圣(聖)像 (shèngxiàng)
(Comput) 图(圖)符 (túfú) (个(個), gè)
(fig, = symbol) 偶像 (ǒuxiàng) (个(個), gè)
1 (noun)
Definition
a person or thing regarded as a symbol of a belief or cultural movement
a famous beauty and fashion icon
Synonyms
idol
They cheered as they caught sight of their idol.
hero
I still remember my boyhood heroes.
superstar
favourite
He was a favourite of the king.
pet
They taunted her about being the teacher's pet.
darling
He was the darling of the family.
pin-up (slang)
2 (noun)
Definition
a picture of Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a saint, venerated in the Orthodox Church
The exhibition features a wide range of religious icons, paintings, and mosaics.
Synonyms
representation
a life-like representation of Christ
image
The polished stone bore the graven image of a snakebird.
figure
a life-size bronze figure of a woman
statue
a huge white statue of Chairman Mao
idol
Some denounced them for worshipping idols.
likeness
The museum displays wax likenesses of every U.S. president.
effigy
An effigy was being burned in the town square.
avatar
favicon (computing)
related words
related maniaiconomania
Additional synonyms
in the sense of darling
Definition
a favourite
He was the darling of the family.
Synonyms
favourite,
pet,
spoilt child,
apple of your eye,
blue-eyed boy,
fair-haired boy (US)
in the sense of effigy
Definition
a crude representation of someone, used as a focus for contempt
An effigy was being burned in the town square.
Synonyms
likeness,
figure,
image,
model,
guy,
carving,
representation,
statue,
icon,
idol,
dummy,
statuette
in the sense of favourite
Definition
a person or thing regarded with especial preference or liking