variants
or less commonly ikon
plural icons also ikons
1
: a person or thing widely admired especially for having great influence or significance in a particular sphere
a civil rights icon
an actor and fashion icon
… Purple Rain, the flick that established Prince as a pop icon and cineaste.—Robert Christgau and Carola Dibbell
That cultural icon, the Nintendo Game Boy, was released in 1989 …—Eleanor Flegg
2
: emblem, symbol
… Rosie the Riveter, with her machine-shop suit, … her bicep flexed and bared, became a national icon defining the new nature of "women's work."—Page Law
A single photograph, the photograph of Earth taken from space by William Anders, on Apollo 8, in 1968, served as an icon for the entire environmental movement.—Jill Lepore
The nation's first President was transformed into an icon, a national symbol whose somewhat forbidding portrait would adorn the dollar bill.—John J. O'Connor
3
a
: a graphic symbol on a computer display screen that represents an app, an object (such as a file), or a function (such as the command to save)
b
: a sign (such as a word or graphic symbol) whose form suggests its meaning
c
archaic
: a usually pictorial representation : image
4
in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
: a representation (as in a mural, a mosaic, or a painting on wood) of sacred events or especially of a sacred individual (such as Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a saint) used as an object of veneration or a tool for instruction
Cite this Entry
“Icon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/icon. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.
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