symbol
- 01 A2 Elementary
n.a mark, letter, or shape that has a fixed meaning, especially in science, maths, or music.
n.a conventional sign or character used in a specific system to represent an operation, element, or quantity.
Simple“The chemical symbol for water is H2O.”
In context“In formal logic, the symbol used to represent 'therefore' consists of three dots arranged in a triangle.”
- 02 B1 Intermediate
n.an object or picture that represents a bigger idea, like a heart for love.
n.a material object or image used to represent something abstract or invisible.
Simple“The white dove is a universal symbol of peace.”
In context“The crown serves as a potent symbol of monarchical authority, even in nations where the ruler holds no actual political power.”
Synonyms - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a person who is seen as the perfect example of a quality or movement.
n.a person or thing regarded as the embodiment or cardinal exemplar of a particular concept or theme.
Simple“For many, she became a symbol of hope during the difficult war years.”
In context“The architect became a symbol of the modernist movement, representing a radical break from traditional Victorian aesthetics.”
Synonyms - 04 C1 Advanced
n.a name used in computer code to identify a specific part of a program.
n.an internal identifier used by a compiler or debugger to relate compiled code to source-level names.
Simple“The debugger could not find the symbol for the main function.”
In context“Stripping the symbols from the binary file reduced its size but made it significantly harder for the engineers to troubleshoot crashes in production.”
Synonyms - 05 C2 Proficiency
v.to be a symbol of something.
v.to represent or stand for something by means of a symbol; used as a synonym for 'symbolize'.
Simple“In the old poem, the falling leaves symbol the end of youth.”
In context“The poet chose to symbol the passage of time through the steady, rhythmic dripping of water against the stone floor.”
UsageThis verb form is rare in modern English; 'symbolize' is the standard choice for all registers.
From French symbole, from Latin symbolus, symbolum (“a sign, mark, token, symbol, in Late Latin also a creed”), from Ancient Greek σύμβολον (súmbolon, “a sign by which one infers something; a mark, token, badge, ticket, tally, check, a signal, watchword, outward sign”), from συμβάλλω (sumbállō, “to throw together, dash together, compare, correspond, tally, come to a conclusion”), from σύν (sún, “with, together”) + βάλλω (bállō, “to throw, put”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.