symbol

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun General-service

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.

“The white dove is a universal symbol of peace.”

“The crown serves as a potent symbol of monarchical authority, even in nations where the ruler holds no actual political power.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Academic

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.

“For many, she became a symbol of hope during the difficult war years.”

“The architect became a symbol of the modernist movement, representing a radical break from traditional Victorian aesthetics.”

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Computing Technical

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.

“The debugger could not find the symbol for the main function.”

“Stripping the symbols from the binary file reduced its size but made it significantly harder for the engineers to troubleshoot crashes in production.”

C2 · Proficiency Archaic · Literary

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'.

“In the old poem, the falling leaves symbol the end of youth.”

“The poet chose to symbol the passage of time through the steady, rhythmic dripping of water against the stone floor.”